


Forever Yours

by kuroneko1815



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Dudley is over protective and doesn't like Klaus, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Good Dursleys, Harry Potter was Raised by Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, Harry is Ianthe and Astrid, Ianthe is so done with it, Kol likes women with fire especially the literal kind, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Neville just goes along with what she wants, Past Lives, Powerful Dudley, Powerful Neville, Sage and Finn finally get a happy ending... eventually, Soulmates, The Dursleys and the Longbottoms are a large part of Fem!Harry's life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-01 14:56:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15145607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroneko1815/pseuds/kuroneko1815
Summary: Klaus is still mourning the loss of his soulmate over a millennia ago and has focused on two things: Break his curse and finally be together with his family without the threat of either parent. He's so close to getting both!In England, Ianthe Potter and Neville Longbottom find themselves trapped in an endless cycle of rebirth. They've played the hero more times than they could count and this time is no exception. Cousins in this life, the two are raised with Dudley Dursley and with the wizarding war over, they are more than looking forward to a peaceful life. Ianthe who has accepted a temporary teaching position with the MACUSA lives primarily in Mystic Falls while finishing her Medical Degree. She keeps her head down and out of the trouble that her good friend Jenna's niece gets herself into until the Mikaelsons arrive.Meanwhile, Finn becomes the imaginary friend of Ianthe, Neville, and Dudley whenever they're asleep. But that's okay because it beats screaming into nothing and waiting for his siblings to remember that he's alive and undagger him. In the meantime, he'll enjoy the presence of his daggered little siblings and Freya. It's just too bad he won't remember anything when he finally wakes up.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niklaus reminisces and Finn dreams (and subsequently becomes an imaginary friend to three cute little magicals plus he gets to see his siblings).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Harry Potter, Vampire Diaries, or The Originals. Thought I'd put it out there.
> 
> A large part of this is in Italics because it's either a flashback or in the dream realm so it's heavily Finn centric for this chapter and seriously, I think Finn and Sage have the most tragic story there. So I'm going to give them a happier one. Give it a chance?

Niklaus Mikaelson sat in front of the fireplace sipping scotch as he stared at the drawing of his baby brother, Henrik, and his beloved Astrid Jakobsdottir. Both were long dead and tonight was one of the nights that he allowed himself to grieve for them. He had been born in a settlement in modern day Ireland. His mother had been a Celtic thrall, a war trophy won after they had invaded the tiny village. His father had fallen in love with his mother not too long after he had taken her on as his slave and had married her. They had stayed in the small settlement until he was two when his father had bundled their family up and brought them onto a longship bound for the new world.

They had landed in New Foundland under the leadership of his ‘Uncle’ Leif Erikson. The land was beautiful and prosperous but had harsh winters. They stayed there for a few seasons and that was where Kol and Rebekah were born. Unfortunately the… _charm_ that the Vikings were so known for (lacked more like) had ensured that they had made enemies of the natives of the land and soon the three settlements were evacuated. Eight longships had left the coast of New Foundland, five made it back to their homeland, two landed in what was modern day Mystic Falls and one in Salem.

His family was on one of the longships that had landed in Mystic Falls, his beloved Astrid was on the other. She had been from the other settlement close to their own but they had not met before. As the two longships set port on the shores of the land after the tremendous storm, the men and women came down to assess the damage wrought to their ship. Niklaus remembered wandering down with his siblings as the men set forth to scout and the women to take stock of their supplies and that was when he had seen her.

Her hair was red as blood and flowed in beautiful waves and curls. She was young, perhaps slightly older than Rebekah but younger than he had been. A wooden doll held in one hand, the hand of her dark-haired twin brother in the other. Niklaus was all of six when he had met her but the moment her emerald green eyes met his, he had felt as if he was forever bound to her. It felt as if he was drowning yet it was salvation and he had determined that he would stay with her for all time.

Her eyes held his for such a short amount of time but to him it had seemed as if all of time had stood still and when her eyes had turned to scan his siblings, her eyes had lingered not on him, but on Rebekah, the only girl in their family (not counting mother or the long-dead Freya). She had given the most beautiful smile and he had found himself rooted in the spot even if it were not meant for him but for his little sister tucked under his arm (Kol who was older than Rebekah was asleep in Finnick’s arms).

Rebekah had left the safety of his arms as she ran to the girl in a lovely green dress who had held out her doll to the younger girl to play with. Elijah had nudged him with a quirked brow as he refused to move closer to the new girl (and her twin brother with a rather fierce glare). It was not too long after that, that the adults had decided to create one unified settlement on their new lands because surely they would not be driven away by the _natives_.

That was where Henrik had been born, where he had met his love, and where his father’s cruelty had arisen and where all it had begun… their heartbreak, their immortality, and the destruction of his family. Yes, Niklaus remembered the land well. He remembered the semi-peaceful relations with the natives of the area, the house that he had been building for himself and his beloved Astrid by the cliffs that led to their hidden caves. Elijah and Finn had been helping them in their free time and he had been determined to see it done before the end of the summer so that he could be rid (at least partially) of his father’s fists and be wed to his beloved. It had nearly been done too, had it not been for that wretched full moon that had stripped him of his brother and his beloved, and a few days later, his humanity.

_Astrid kissed his bare shoulder as she sat up from the blanket, their cave had been hidden so well that they had to make their way through one cave, strip, and swim down to another cave. Throughout their courtship, they had left various things there for their comforts, extra clothes and some blankets. They knew that there was a long way that did not require their swim but they had enjoyed it._

_The_ _flames that he had lit in their hidden oasis burned as ever before and the chill was setting in as the sweat dried and the cold of the cave and the water reached them. Their bare forms lay wrapped in each other and the smell of sex still heavy in the air from their previous activities. Niklaus held her body close to his as he brought another blanket to rest upon them, a hand playing with the vibrant red curls so impossibly soft and sweet smelling._

_“I love you, My beloved heart.” Niklaus told her as her fingers gently traced the bruises his father’s cruelty left. Her hands soft yet slightly callused as she hummed a tune._

_She shifted until she was straddling him, her green eyes loving and her smile sweet. “And I you, my soul.”_

_She kissed some of his bruises and her eyes trailed his body worriedly. “Does it hurt?”_

_Niklaus knew that lying to her would be no good, the woman can smell a lie better than anyone and she would be upset if he tried. “It does.” He said truthfully._

_She nodded solemnly. “When will our home be finished?” She asked, changing the subject._

_“By the end of the week.”_

_“A home for us.” She said happily. “We can start our life together and soon, a family, a child.” She said listing the expectations that people had of us. The thought of a child had him uneasy as he thought of his father’s temper and how his mother had merely stepped aside and allowed them to be hurt. Instead, Niklaus shifted until she was under him once more before he kissed her roughly._

_When they lay panting once more, thoroughly spent, she raised herself and stared at him. “Do you have any preference for what our first child would be?” She asked._

_He shifted. “No… I… don’t think we should have a child so soon… or at all.”_

_“Why?”_

_“I just, don’t want children?” His words came out as more of a question._

_“You’re lying. I know you adore them.” She said eyes narrowed._

_“I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of having children.”_

_“Niklaus, what’s wrong with having children?” She asked a bit frustrated._

_Niklaus sighed. “I don’t believe that I would be a good father.”_

_“Do you believe that I will not be a good mother?” She asked hurt._

_Niklaus hurriedly reassured her. “No, no. I love my mother but she is nothing like you. I know you will be the best of mothers.”_

_“Then do you believe you would be a poor father?” She asked with furrowed brows._

_“I… I am afraid that I will become my father.” He admits quietly, the truth is harsher to swallow, to accept._

_“Do you think you can ever hate a child of ours?”_

_“No.”_

_“Do you think you could ever raise a hand to a child of ours?”_

_“…No.” He says hesitantly, his father’s face flashes in his mind._

_“Do you love me?”_

_“Yes!”_

_“Will you ever hate me?”_

_“No!” He says vehemently._

_“Can you ever see yourself raising a hand to me?” She asked quietly._

_“Never!” He vowed._

_“Do you see me stepping aside and allowing you to harm our children as your parents had done? Do you see me allowing us to make the very same mistakes?”_

_“No, not you.”_

_She looks at him with a smile. “Then you have no reason to fear. I will always be there to hold you back, Nik.” She said._

_“I… I still don’t feel comfortable about a child.”_

_She frowned before she kissed him and sat up properly. “Well, you’ll have to think about it because we won’t have that much time.” She said as she finally stood up._

_Niklaus stood up with her but she shook her head and kissed him once more. “I have to go and meet Rebekah. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Nik.”_

_“Tonight is when the men turn to wolves, please make sure you’re home by then.” Niklaus said as she stepped into the water, mind pondering over her words. They had time to wait for children but she was in such a rush, so sure that a child would be born soon. Well… with how often they’d snuck away to the cave, it wouldn’t really surprise him if they did have one born a year into their marriage._

_She turned back to him with a smile as her body was half submerged. “I love you.” She said loudly. Nik could see that she was still troubled by something, had been the whole day, and that she was also still a little upset and put out with him for his reluctance to have children._

_“I love you as well, My Soul.” He called out just before she took a breath._

That had been the last that Klaus had seen Astrid alive. That night, she had been late coming home from her errands and had run into Henrik who had snuck away to watch the men turn into wolves. He remembered how they had gone out to search for him when they had discovered him gone, he had even gone to Astrid’s home in the vain hope that he had gone there.

_Astrid’s twin brother, Asbjorn Jakobson answered the door. “Niklaus, what are you doing here?”_

_“Is Henrik here? He snuck out.” He said in a rush._

_“No, he hasn’t been here. I was just about to leave, Astrid hasn’t returned from her walk yet.” Asbjorn said and Niklaus felt his blood go cold. Everyone he loved was now outside on a full moon as the men turned into vicious wolves._

_He turned and ran into the woods, knowing the path that Astrid was likely to take. Asbjorn followed him, an ax strapped to his back and a sword sheathed at his side. The howling of a wolf from somewhere in front of them was followed by a blood-curdling scream that he knew immediately to be Astrid’s. He had gotten there in time to see her knock the wolf off of Henrik, who seemed heavily injured but still alive. The wolf pounced at her, knocking the sword she had in her hand away before tearing into her._

_Niklaus threw himself upon the wolf and was able to wound it a few times but it was Asbjorn who had dealt the final blow. The others had arrived at this point as Niklaus collapsed beside his baby brother and his beloved, both so still, their chests unmoving._

It hadn’t been until they had turned that Niklaus had learned (mostly through listening to Rebekah) why she was so insistent on having a child as soon as they were married. It hadn’t been a matter of trying for one, more of the fact that she had to get him used to the idea that a child would come soon, likely would have come within six months. So in that one horrid week, he had lost three people precious to him: his brother, his betrothed, and their unborn child.

When Tatia, Elijah’s beloved, had been killed by their mother in order to bind Niklaus’ werewolf nature, he had lashed out and killed her. Their siblings had been witnesses to the injustice done to their brother and had run away from their father. They had fled from the village (after ensuring that the White Oak Tree was burned) where there was growing tensions between their fellow Norsemen and the Natives over the werewolves and now their cursed selves seemed to have fuelled a belief that the land was cursed. The Natives had arrived in force as they were leaving and had set fire to many of the structures.

The fact that they had been forced to stay inside for the first few days meant that Henrik’s funeral pyre had been delayed and he was still buried somewhere. Astrid’s funeral pyre had been done by her brother just a few hours prior to their turning so Niklaus had been able to say goodbye to her. His siblings had gathered what they could as the natives ran about but Elijah had stopped at the cries of Tatia’s son.

Niklaus saw Elijah rush to the child and swept him up into his arms before rushing after them. At the cliff side where the house that he had built for them stood, Asbjorn had been fighting against the Natives and when one had gotten too close, Niklaus had leaped on him and began to feed. Asbjorn didn’t look frightened, hadn’t missed a step as he continued to fight against the Natives. When the fighting was done, Elijah had thrust the child into Asbjorns arms and he had stared at them, not with fear but with sadness.

_“Farewell, my friends. May the Gods have mercy on you.” Asbjorn had said before he left to join the others by the longship._

As Niklaus led his siblings to the first cave where he had hidden a small ship, he saw that _his_ house was on fire. Niklaus dragged a few of the provisions he had been saving for their first winter in their home and immediately stocked the ship. He rushed back up the cliff and gathered the fallen Natives so that they would have some blood on their journey. He glanced one last time at the burning settlement as his family made their way to France and swore that he would never again allow himself to be weak, never again allow anyone to take his loved ones away. His heart and soul, his humanity, had died with his brother and his lost love and unborn child.

And he has kept that promise. He protects his siblings, keeps them away from his father’s grasp, even though there has not been a sighting of Mikael in years, he keeps them daggered and asleep inside coffins that he takes with him everywhere until he has a suitable home for them until his curse is lifted… then and only then would Klause reveal the truth of their three siblings survival to Elijah and reunite with them once more.

* * *

 

Finnick screams in the darkness. He does not know how long it’s been, doesn’t understand why his siblings do not hear him, why they do not check to see if he has awakened. Years had passed this he knows and his anger at their betrayal burns deeply. For this can be nothing but a betrayal, they had daggered him in fear that he would take his own life before he could tell them of his beloved Sage, though he knew how deeply they disapproved of her. They had forgotten him and left him alone and unable to move, trapped in his coffin and in his body with nothing but the darkness and he wonders at what he has done to deserve this.

Was this Niklaus’ revenge for never stepping up to their father to protect him as Elijah had done? And what of Sage? Was she still alive? Had she waited for him in the countless years, possibly centuries, since they have been parted?

Then one day, he believes himself to have gone mad as a scene begins to form before him. A woman with hair as red as blood stood in front of her baby, the room was unlike any that he had ever seen but it was undoubtedly a nursery. A man in a dark hooded cloak and a sinister smile stood before the woman. And though he had never heard the words that each spoke, he understood it somehow.

 _“Step aside you foolish girl!”_ _The hooded man said._

_“Not my daughter, please. Not my daughter! I’m begging you, please. Have mercy. Not her, not my baby, take me please.” The woman begged desperately. Her arms spread wide and the scent of salt from her tears reached him though he could not see the woman’s face._

_“Avada Kedavra!” The man said as a jet of green light hit the woman and she fell to the ground motionless. The man stepped over the woman and pointed a stick at the babe and Finnick bared his fangs and rushed at the monster who was so willing to harm an innocent babe but his body had gone through the man._

_Another jet of green light came out and struck the girl but the light was deflected and a blast shook the home, the man was thrown away and Finnick saw that he was reduced to nothing but a wraith. The baby's forehead was bleeding as she cried, calling for her mother. To the side, Finnick heard whimpering and as he scans the room, he spots a little girl hiding behind the wardrobe and staring at the fallen woman._

_The moment their eyes lock on to each other, Finnick’s breath is taken away, this girl… this child, he knows her. It was Niklaus’ lost love as she had been when they had first met. She flinches and hides even further when he moves towards her but he does not stop, this little girl with hair as red as blood was once as beloved a sister to him as Rebekah and the long-dead Freya was._

_“Shh, little one.” He whispered soothingly as she shies away from him. “My name is Finnick. I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.” He says, and the words come out in the language that the woman had spoken._

_“I…” She looked at him fearfully as another dark robed black haired man ran into the room and headed straight for the dead woman, ignoring the crying babe in the process. He clung to the woman, weeping over her while the babe in the crib shrieked, finally, he had had enough and approached the child with obvious malice, hands raised and poised to strangle when her eyes met his and he reeled back and abruptly left the babe._

_It was only then that Finnick saw the emerald green eyes and the runic-like scar on the child’s forehead where the blood had come from and realized with shock that the little girl he was trying to coax out was the very same babe in the crib, now a few years older._

_“What’s your name, dear one?” He tried again as he opened his arms welcomingly._

_“Ianthe Astrid Potter.” The little girl said before she stepped into his hug. The sweet smell he knew so well wafted out to him. Astrid, this was dear little Astrid. Had he truly gone mad? Or was this perhaps some dream._

_“Little Astrid, I promise, you’re safe now. I won’t let any harm come to you.” He promised as he stroked her back soothingly. He knew that a lot of Niklaus’ humanity had been lost when Astrid and their unborn child had died. And Henrik’s death hadn’t helped at all. It had sapped whatever tenderness still remained in him. Niklaus was only ever determined about one thing, their survival and he killed whoever stood in his way from gaining the power to protect them._

_A wounded cry of “James” had disrupted his thoughts as the sobs of a man came through the open door. ‘James’ he had known was the Anglicized form of Jakob. The babe that had quietened a few moments before began to cry in earnest once more._

_“Pa’foo!” The babe shrieked again and again in desperation._

_“Ria! Merlin, Ria!” The voice cried as the thumping of hurried steps came through. Finnick was unsure whether to be alarmed at the thought of another trying to harm the child or to trust that since the child seemed to recognize the man by voice, that he had not intended any harm to the babe._

_The man appeared, elegantly waved long dark hair, stormy grey eyes filled with heartbreak and hope (not to mention tears), and a handsome face appeared by the door._

_“No, Lily!” He cried as he rushed to check on her, Finnick knew she was long gone but the man still seemed determine to check. “I’m sorry, so sorry. This is my fault. I should have trusted Remus, I should have known Peter was the traitor! I’m so sorry, Lily, James.” He cried as he sat beside the body._

_The child who had quietened upon his entry seemed upset at being ignored and began to wail and the man immediately came to her and picked her up. “It’s okay, Uncle Sirius is here. I’m here. See, Padfoot will keep you safe and we’ll go see Aunty Alice and Uncle Frank, yeah?” He said as he cradled her in his arms as he moved to gather things into a strange bag, a toy, a blanket, a few trinkets, and a book with moving photos._

_He turned to the woman and raised a stick again and the body levitated from the ground. He paid no mind to the robes on the floor and actually stomped on them as he exited, the body of the woman following them. Finnick found himself and Astrid getting pulled from the nursery as well to the warm cottage that lay below. A man lay at the foot of the narrow wooden staircase, the disarray around the house included random burn marks showing signs of a battle._

_This would be ‘James’ then, Astrid’s father. He had obviously fallen trying to defend his wife and child. Another wave of the stick and the man’s body flew through the air and followed them out of the cottage. Finnick saw the remains of what once was a stately and warm house, flowers lined the bottom of the windows and the grass was short. The landscape was nothing like Finnick had ever seen, how much had he missed?_

_Finnick’s eyes widened as he finally saw the faces of James and Lily. It was the much younger versions of Jakob and Lilja, Astrid and Asbjorn’s parents. It begged the question of where the hell was Asbjorn? He watched as an impossibly large, and yes he was practically a giant, man appeared before the man who was soothing the babe in his arms._

_They spoke heatedly for a few minutes before he heard the man crying desperately. “No, you can’t take her away from me. Please. I’m the only one she has left! I promised them I’d take care of her.”_

_“I’m sorry, Sirius. I have my orders. She’s to be taken to Lily’s sister. You know how it is, this is still war and Little Ianthe is the last remaining member of her house. She needs to be taken somewhere they can’t find her.”The man said gruffly._

_“Then I’ll take her and run! I’m the Heir to the House of Black, I have the money and the pull to raise the next Lady Potter. I can take her somewhere she’ll be safe and I know Lord and Lady Longbottom would back me on this!” He said._

_“I can’t let you do that, Sirius. Now, hand Ianthe to me and I’ll take her there until the heat dies down.” The man demanded, looking ready to knock ‘Sirius’ out._

_For his part, Sirius looked heartbroken as he stared at the babe and pressed a gentle kiss on her head before reluctantly handing the babe over to the giant. “I love you, Pup.”_

_“Pa’foo!” The babe shrieked the moment she was out of the man’s arms, her own hands reaching for the man as he held her hands in one of his._

_“Here are her things. Take my bike, it’ll be faster and there are a lot of safety procedures. And for Merlin’s sake, please… please don’t stop for anything until she’s safe with Dumbledore. I have a rat to kill.” The man ordered as he pulled away after a last kiss._

_“I love you, Ria. Always and forever.” He said._

_“Wuv you, Pa’foo!” The babe said sadly as she stared at the man, her head following his movements as he disappeared with a pop and a man with dark skin approached the remaining duo._

_“The Lord and Lady Potter are dead? What about Heiress Potter?” The man asked immediately, stick out and scanning for trouble._

_“With me, Sirius Black gave her to me and made me promise to take her somewhere safe, said he had a rat to kill.”_

_They were suddenly in an open field filled with flowers in the middle of the day and Astrid stepped away from her. Tentatively, he asked her what he had been dreading. “Where’s Asbjorn, your brother?”_

_She looked at him in confusion. “No bwothew. Only god bwothew.” She said._

_“Err… right, your godbrother.” He said as he blinked, she was an only child._

_“Nevi!” She said as she perked up. She grabbed his hand and ran as a door opened._

_She stopped as blood-curdling screams erupted from a man and a woman. “Nevi, scared. You help too!” She demanded as she dragged him to where a boy her age was turned away from them, staring at the scene as light hit the man and woman continuously._

_There were three men and a woman standing over them and a baby that could barely be seen, even by Finnick’s enhanced eyes. He knew magic was afoot and he was shocked to realize that Astrid had just run through the dreams of others._

_“Where is our Master!” The sole woman in the group asked as she released them from the spell._

_“Go to hell!” The woman recently released from the spell spat back before she was screaming again._

_The man stayed resolutely silent before he was hit once more. This seemed to go on and on as Astrid pulled ‘Nevi’ into her arms._

_“Shh. Nevi.” She said soothingly._

_“Ia.” The boy whimpered and when he raised his head Finnick saw that it was Asbjorn. So they were godsiblings? What did that even mean? And were they related in this life._

_The sounds tampered down and they saw men appear and disarm the four, the couple on the floor was no longer responsive to anything, not even the screams of their son._

_“I’m sorry Lady Longbottom, your son, and daughter-in-law were under the curse for far too long. They’ve gone catatonic.” A woman’s voice was heard as the scene shifted to a formidable looking woman cradling a dark-haired round-faced baby boy in her arms._

_“I understand.” The woman said as she gazed at the couple on the beds._

_“Say goodbye, Neville.” She said to the boy who merely blinked at her before she turned back to the people on the beds. “I’ll take care of him and little Ria.” She promised as she walked away._

_And then they were back among the fields. Finnick blinked at the two children wrapped in each other’s arms. Asbjorn’s father bore a strong resemblance to James Potter so perhaps they were cousins this time around. Another thought hit Finnick as he contemplated the children’s abilities to walk and pull people into other’s dreams._

_The world shakes suddenly as the voice of a woman begins calling them._ “NEVILLE! IANTHE! Wake up!” _before Finn can say anything else, the field falls apart and he’s back in the darkness, the children are gone. The same thing happens thirty times, ‘days’ Finn knows, the children come to him when they sleep. It has come to the point where he barely spares a glance at the proceedings and rushes to gather Astrid in his arms before she conjures a door to Asbjorn’s dream realm._

_The children talk to him about the little things they’re learning, about the etiquette lessons and their magic (‘shh, you gotta pwomis you won’t tell kay? Iz secwet.’ Astrid says as serious as a four year old can be, Finn nods back solemnly); they talk about their families, about how she is partially raised by Neville’s grandmother but also by her mother’s none magical sister’s family in order to keep her grounded in the reality of the world outside their own. One day, he thinks that maybe, he can convince her to find her siblings._

_“Astrid?” He called hesitantly and the little girl turned to him expectantly. “You can walk into anyone’s dreams, right?”_

_The girl nodded eagerly. “Perhaps you can find my brothers and sister’s dreams.”_

_“Bwothews and sistew…” She said with furrowed brows._

_“Yes, brothers and sister.”_

_“You not hurt them!” She demanded._

_“No, never.” He said, he wanted to see his siblings, to plead his case… and maybe… maybe even reach out to Sage._

_“Okay, you fwend. Okay?” She said._

_“Yes, I’m your friend.” He said as he leaned in to hug the little children. If this was merely his mind making it up then he had a rather vivid imagination and if it wasn’t, well, then he was going to at least see his siblings again._

_“What names?” She asked._

_“Kol, Elijah, Niklaus, and Rebekah.” He recited immediately._

_She frowned at the names and she could see that Asbjorn was frowning as well. “Nikwas?” She asked hesitantly as if she was trying to remember something and the scene shifted slightly and they were back to that first day when they had met before it disappeared again. Finnick didn’t miss the dumbstruck look on Niklaus’ face as their eyes caught one another, it seemed the boy had been lost on Astrid from the moment he laid eyes on her._

_“Fink? ‘Membew? Feew?” She asked him and he took that to mean think of them, remember them, and feel them._

_That was easy enough and soon she grabbed their hands and dragged them to a door that had suddenly appeared. There was screaming again, this time a whole town. Oh joy, this was Kol’s paradise. They spotted him immediately and though the small children were definitely terrified they pushed through until they found his brother._

_Astrid merely turned to Finnick and raised their joined hands. Finnick immediately grabbed a hold of an unsuspecting Kol who was too busy feasting on some poor woman to notice them as Finnick began to imagine Rebekah. This time the door only had one person screaming and it was definitely out of frustration rather than anything that would traumatize the children as Rebekah threw a vase at the wall._

_“Damn that man! I hate him! I’ll kill Alexander when I get my hands on him!” She screeched. Another door opened and as they passed by the unsuspecting Rebekah, Asbjorn slipped his little hand to her and she glanced down in surprise at the sudden appearance of said hand before she was pulled back into the fields._

_“What the fuck?” Rebekah asked before catching sight of him. “Finnick?” She asked incredulously._

_Kol scrambled up from his position to stare at him and it seemed that both had forgotten the two children that had dragged them there. From the lack of doors, Finn took it to mean that neither Elijah nor Niklaus were daggered or even asleep._

_“Hello, Kol, Bekah.” He said as he pulled them into hugs. They may be slightly, no fully deranged monsters who delighted in killing but they were still his siblings and he loved them, despite the obvious slight against him._

_“Did you suddenly develop dream walking abilities? I mean dream manipulation is one thing but we’ve been asleep for years and suddenly we’re together.” Kol asked or rather demanded._

_Finn smirked at his siblings and pointed at the two children who began to chase butterflies. “No, on the contrary, it was all thanks to my little friends over there.” He said._

_The two children stopped and turned as if they sensed that they were being talked about and Finn saw the moment the two recognized who the children were. “Are they doppelgangers? Because Klaus will be pissed off and more than a little possessive not to mention downright protective over her.” Kol said._

_“Doppelgangers?” Finn asked._

_“Look-a-likes.” Rebekah put in but she nodded at Kol’s assessment of the situation. While he might be obsessed with breaking the curse on his werewolf side and had no qualms killing Tatia’s doppelganger, there was no doubt that he wouldn’t hesitate to level an entire city if he had discovered Astrid’s and had realized that she’d been hurt even in the smallest of ways._

_“Ahh, I think it’s best that the two introduced themselves to you.”_

_The two children shared a glance before Astrid stepped forward, hand holding one of Asbjorn’s. “My name is Ianthe Astrid Potter, daughter of the Late Lord James Potter and his wife Lady Lily. And this is my cousin Neville.” She said slowly so that her ‘r’s’ and ‘l’s’ were properly pronounced._

_Asbjorn stepped forward. “My name is Neville Arthur Longbottom son of Lord Franklin Longbottom and His wife Lady Alice. I’m Ianthe’s godbrother and cousin.” He said as slowly as his cousin had._

_“I don’t think they simply look like them, I think that it **is** them and they’ve been reborn.” Finn said quietly to his siblings before Rebekah grabbed them in a hug._

_When Rebekah pulled back and the children ran off to play once more under their watchful eyes, they all gathered to discuss their predicament. Primarily Niklaus’ obsessive need to ensure that they were safe from everyone even going so far as daggering his siblings and trying to take over the world to ensure that no one would try to hurt them._

_“Klaus is going to shit bricks when he learns about this, and then he’s going to go on a warpath to get to her.” Kol pointed out._

_Finn sighed at the thought of his other brother. “Yes, well… there’s another problem. The two of them are orphans, they were present when it happened and though they are being cared for by a formidable woman, their lives are still in danger from the group of people that had left them orphans.”_

_“And we’re trapped here unable to warn Klaus about the danger to his reborn love’s life.” Rebekah snorted derisively but her eyes softened and Finn knew his sister was worried about the children that had once been their dearest friends._

_They talk for awhile but Finnick doesn’t mention the secrets that the children have sworn him too, he feels honored that they trust him enough with such things, and more than a little weary. If Finnick ends up telling even his brother and sister the secrets of the children, then the children may stop allowing him into their dreams in retaliation, trapping him once more in unending darkness._

_Just like before, the world shatters as the children disappear. Kol and Rebekah scramble to their feet as the darkness comes and they’re being pulled away. “Don’t worry!” Finn tells them. “They’re just waking up. It’s always like this.”_

_The next night, he ventures deeper, as he takes the children from their dreams and into the fields. He sits with them and Asbjorn and Astrid start pretending that they were in a picnic, or at least it seemed like it, until the food started appearing just as they had mentioned. Astrid serves them a plate just as she was apparently being taught and he takes it gratefully. He has seen his brother and sister, could she perhaps take him to Sage? Would he even dare too?_

_“Wike pwaying with them?” Asbjorn asked and Finn blinked, was he talking about Rebekah and Kol?_

_“Yes, thank you.” He said with a smile._

_“See again?” Astrid prompted._

_Finn shook his head. “I liked seeing them… but there’s a woman I wanted to see some more. She’s… a friend.”_

_“Fwend? Or wove?” Astrid asked, head tilted to the side with eyes far older than they should be. The expression reminded him far too much of the Astrid of old who could see into your soul._

_“Love.”_

_“What name?” Astrid asked._

_“Sage.” Finn said with a sad and wistful smile, his thoughts on the redhead he so adored. He saw the children frowning as they grabbed his hand and a door appeared._

_Finn opened the door cautiously and noticed that neither of the children moved. Perhaps they were in the same time zone if so, it might be easier to get Sage to watch over them. Sage was on a dias surrounded by ropes and she was punching her opponent over and over again. It looked like a messed up tourney and he watched as the man collapsed and Sage had gone off the dias to collect her winnings._

_“Sage.” Finnick said gently._

_Sage spun around, eyes wide with shock. The moment their eyes met Finnick found himself lost in their depths. “Finn?” She asked hesitantly._

_“You’re asleep right now, that’s how I was able to find you. I had a friend help me…” He trailed off awkwardly._

_“I… how? It’s been nine hundred years… I thought you were really lost to me. I’ve been waiting for so long.” She said as he held out a hand to her._

_“Come with me? There are some people I’d like you to meet.”_

_Sage took his hand without hesitation and followed him out the door and to the field where the children were still eating. She stopped at the sight of the two._

_“They’re the friends who took me to see you. I’ve been pulled into their dreams for the past month now. I saw Rebekah and Kol last night. I… I wanted to see you, even if you’d moved on.” He told her sincerely._

_“I’ve taken care of myself, Finn but that doesn’t mean that I’ve moved on.”_

_Finn smiled at her but didn’t continue towards the children. “The girl, she’s the reincarnation of Niklaus’ beloved betrothed. She may be able to get Niklaus to let me go. The boy was her twin brother in the last life, They’re cousins and godsiblings in this one.”_

_“So I have to find them?” Sage asked with a frown. “And get them to remember?”_

_“Find them, yes. Get them to remember, no. A part of me feels like the right thing to do is to let her meet Niklaus and let them remember slowly. I saw glimpses of other lives this past month and if you try to get them to remember, it might overwhelm them.” Finn told her._

_“Alright, find them and get them to Niklaus.” Sage said with a nod._

_“I’m afraid it isn’t that simple. The children are being hunted. You’ll need to protect them, earn their trust, and stick close to them.”_

_“Alright, how will I do that?” Sage asked._

_Finn smiled at her and finally led her to the children. “By getting to know them now.”_

_When the dream started fading Sage held tight to him desperately. “Just a few more years, love.” He promised as he kissed her._

_The next night Finn asked for his siblings again. This time he asked that they are anchored together so that they could stay and talk even when the children woke up. Astrid was confused but allowed it. When the children woke up, Finn remained in the field with Kol and Rebekah, the doors to their dreams flung open at the sides. And doors for Astrid and Asbjorn’s dreams would open on the nights he was needed and though Kol and Rebekah had tried to follow him through a few times after hearing the screams, they soon found out that it was only Finn who could go to the children’s dreams, likely because he was the one that the children trusted implicitly._

_“What are we going to do about the children? How are we going to protect them?” Rebekah demanded one day._

_Finn turned to his siblings and sighed. “I found Sage. It was a good thing she was in England at the time so she was asleep at the same time the children were. I told her to find the twins and protect them when the time is right, I know they’ll run into Niklaus. Astrid might be able to convince Niklaus to release us.”_

_“Okay. That’s a good plan.” Kol said as he turned his attention back to the children playing happily. The doors to their dreams had disappeared a while ago._

_“Sage has already found them, the twins had mentioned one of their new caretakers. Their guardians were wary about hiring a vampire but she’s under the supervision of a few vampires and a werewolf who had been good friends with their parents.” Finn said as the children turned to them with a smile before disappearing, marking a new day._

_“It’ll be interesting, especially since Trevor and Rose are supervising her.” Finn said as an afterthought. The two vampires that Elijah and Klaus had a kill order on had met and befriended James and Lily Potter and had become something of a family to them. In Wizarding Britain they were safe from the Mikaelsons who had no idea of its existence and they could stay in magical communities where they might be slightly ostracized but wouldn’t have to worry about moving around so much._

_Finn’s thoughts turned to his parents and he grimaced, as much as he loved them he knew they were in the wrong. What they had done had been wrong and for a hundred years, he had hated what he had become until he had met Sage. She was so vibrant and loving, someone he could see himself spending an eternity with and for the first time he had begun to think that he could live as long as she was beside him._

_Finn knew his mother was powerful, perhaps even able to come back from the dead but she was a vengeful woman. He knew that if she ever found a way back to life she wouldn’t hesitate to kill Niklaus in retaliation for her death, justified as it was. Esther had never been a good mother, for all that she liked to delude herself that she was a perfect mother, the truth was, she never stopped their father whenever he beat Niklaus within an inch of his life. She was at most, a passive and ignorant woman, loving only when she was able to pull herself away from her magic._

_And Astrid’s disgust at their parents was well known by the siblings, for all that she played a sweet and simple girl in front of Esther and Mikael, there was no doubt that her powerful magic always flared in response to her volatile emotions whenever she saw them. Asbjorn wasn’t any better when it came to them either, there were times when he had to be stopped from coming after Mikael when they were children and Finn knew that the only reason he didn’t curse Esther was out of respect for Kol, his best friend._

_When the next night came and the door came again, he had been prepared to take the children from there but there was another child with them this time, another door to step through and Finnick blinked at the blonde haired blue eyed little boy in confusion. He had absolutely no idea who the child was or where he had come from._

_“Duddy!” Astrid and Asbjorn screamed as they clung to the poor boy._

_“Ia? Nevi? Where?” He asked as he turned a glare at Finn pushing the two behind him._

_Astrid stepped away from him and pointed at Finn. “Iz okay. He fwend.”_

_“What name?” Duddy demanded._

_“I’m Finnick Mikaelson.”_

_“I am Dudley Dursley, Lady Ianthe’s cousin.” He said by way of introduction and much in the same way that the two children had introduced themselves before. “You no hurt them?”_

_“I promise I won’t harm them, little one.” Finn said._

_Dudley eyed him before nodding. He turned his accusing gaze on the other two. They stepped forward and introduced themselves but didn’t get too close. He nodded at them and stared at them for a while before finally relaxing. Dudley became a semi-permanent fixture after that, often appearing after Finn had pulled the two out of their nightmares._

_It wasn’t until at least a year had passed that he had gotten a large shock. “Other sister?” Astrid had asked, the children’s ‘r’s’ and ‘l’s’ now coming out properly._

_“Yes, I had another sister. But she’s gone now.” Finn said sadly as he thought of his older sister. He was sure that Elijah didn’t remember her._

_“Not gone, sleeping.” She said, eyes distant. “Always sleeping, trapped.”_

_“No, I’m sorry sweetie, but Freya is gone, just like my baby brother.” He told her gently. The other two children were nowhere in sight and his siblings had gone back to their own dream realm for the time being. It hurt to think of his long-dead siblings._

_“Not dead! Only sleeping!” She said angrily as she grabbed his hand. An ancient door appeared before him and his heart pounded. Was it possible? Was Freya in a sort of induced sleep?_

_He opens the door cautiously, trying not to get his hopes up. He finds a woman who looks so much like Rebekah cradling a babe in her arms as she runs away but magic traps her and Dahlia appears, their aunt is angry but triumphant as she rips the babe away from Freya. It hurts to hear her cries but he knows that there is nothing he can do._

_“Please, Aunt Dahlia, please, give me back my son. I promise I won’t run anymore.” Freya begged._

_The dream changed once more as Freya placed her son in the middle of a circle of candles with tears in her eyes. She took a necklace from her pocket and placed it on the child. “You’ll be safe and away from her, I promise. I’ll have to go to sleep soon but you’ll find people who would love you. I’m so sorry, baby.” She said as she stepped away and began to chant a spell, the rattling of the door told Finn that Dahlia realized what was happening._

_A flash of light and the child was gone. Freya had collapsed on the ground, heartbroken. Finn couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed Freya before dragging her out. Freya turned to him stunned._

_“Who are you?”_

_“Freya, it’s me. It’s Finn.” He said trying to calm her down._

_“I… Finn?” She asked staring at him._

_“I’ll explain everything later.” He said as he led her to where Astrid was playing with a doll._

_Astrid waved at them before disappearing again, marking the start of another day. And as he allows Freya to slowly relax and tell him of her life he feels his anger towards his mother grow. His mother had willingly given his sister away. To learn that his sisters had met before, that she had actively looked for them spoke a lot about how desperate she was to get away from Dahlia._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Vikings never made it to Virginia. Pretty sure they only ended up in New Foundland in Canada. And to try to make the story more consistent with history I've added bits and pieces like the family that had originally settled New Foundland. I'm not going to bash the others, for the most part, although they've made a lot of pretty dumb decisions throughout the run. I really don't see Esther as a good mother, in fact, she's pretty crappy and self centered. The fact that she abandoned her sister and asked her for favors later on, how she never stood up for her children because her marriage was apparently more important but she goes and cheats on her husband anyway (this is apparently grounds for an execution in Viking culture). Vikings have very weird rules like premarital sex is okay but cheating isn't. A woman can divorce a man if they don't satisfy her enough and so on and so forth. Although, given that Esther and her sister were captives probably meant that they were from a conquered tribe which means that they were slaves for a while. Also, there were red-haired Vikings.
> 
> I believe that Arthur means Bear King or Noble One while Asbjorn is Bear God or something along those lines. While Jakob is another form of James. I also realized that there shouldn't have been any way for Finn to know English since the modern form of English that we know today didn't exist nine hundred years ago. It's changed a lot and trust me when I say that unless he had a spell cast, he shouldn't have been able to talk to his siblings. Esther, I was willing to overlook her since she was on the other side which means that she could have spoken to the others there on a frequent basis and so was able to see it change. One more thing: should Henrik live in some way? Anyway, tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash forward twenty or so years and we're in Mystic Falls. Elijah comes to town, Niklaus finds an interesting scrapbook, and Ianthe is seriously reconsidering following her friend to Virginia. Finn contemplates some more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as long as the first chapter and I had a harder time on where to start with this and I've rewritten it at least four times. I hope you enjoyed this.

Ianthe awoke to the sunlight streaming onto her face, the sounds of childish laughter echoes as the scent of freshly cooked bacon hits her. Not for the first time did she find herself thankful that Matt had agreed to live with her in exchange for being Teddy’s part-time carer, Kreacher could only do so much and Winky was too busy with the magical creatures they were rehabilitating in the backyard. Her last shift had been long as she picked up the slack for the late Dr. Gilbert. Her residency was almost up and from there she would have to choose whether or not she would stay in Mystic Falls, after all, she still had a few more years before Teddy attended Hogwarts.

The buzzing of the phone interrupted her thoughts. “Hello?” She asked, not even bothering to see who was calling.

“Hey, I’m going to have to cancel lunch today. Carol’s making me show around some author…” Jenna’s voice drifted through the phone, her voice apologetic. “Unless you don’t mind coming with us?”

Ianthe smiled at her American best friend though it remained unseen. “If you don’t mind having Teddy with us?”

“I don’t mind. You’ve been living here for years now but you don’t really know the stories of the town, it might be a good a time as any for the two of you to learn.” Jenna said happily.

“I’ll meet you at the rose park then?” She asked as she rose from her bed, plucking her robe on, she went down to see her two boys.

“Sure. See you!” Jenna chirped back before the line cut off.

She watched as Teddy greedily shoveled his breakfast as Matt sighed. “Teddy, slow down and chew otherwise you’ll choke.” He said.

Teddy nodded and Ianthe chose to reveal herself. “Good morning, boys.”

“Morning mum!” Teddy greeted.

“Morning, Ia.” Matt said as he handed her a plate filled with food and her morning tea.

Ianthe reached into her work bag and pulled out a manila envelope and slid it to Matt. She watched calmly as he opened the envelope and gasped. “Ia… this is…”

“Your health insurance, guardianship papers, and papers for an education fund.” She said as she smiled.

Matt shook his head. “This is too much, I can’t accept this.”

Ianthe smiled and shook her head, hand reaching across the table to hold his. “In my world guardianship is something to be taken seriously. Our wards become our children, they might not be able to inherit the things our children do but they have the protection of our name, a home, and everything they need to create a good life. The moment I took you in here under the guise of Teddy’s caretaker, you became my ward.” She told him gently before taking a sip of her drink.

Matt smiled at her and nodded and she looked at her boys fondly. There were only two people in the town who knew that she and Teddy had magic, Matt and Jenna. Matt had been told when she took him in, having witnessed Vicki’s vampiric death, he had been shaken and alone so she had told him of her world and took him on as her ward. Jenna had been one of her best friends from University. The older woman had been her tour guide around Cambridge and she had walked in on her doing magic. She became an integral part of it afterward when she had told them the stories of her childhood, the council, how she had a different mother from her sister (who as it turned out was the descendant of Iola Black later known as Isla Hitchins).

Jenna had been frothing at the mouth once she realized that the Salvatore brothers were vampires and her niece and nephew was caught up in all sorts of danger, still, she strove to be the bigger person and wait on them to tell her the truth. Her patience was running thin though. Matt, on the other hand, stepped away from Caroline and Tyler, completely content to avoid all of the drama, no matter how much he cared about them both. Matt took to the magic though, he enjoyed seeing the magical creatures, being able to help out with caring for the injured hippogriffs and pegasi.

“Have a good day at school!” She yelled out as Matt headed for the front door, she didn’t bother telling him to be good, she never was. And just as the door shut, the fireplace came alive and Neville landed in a heap.

“I hate the floo!” He grumbled before turning to them, a smile on her face.

Ianthe ran to her ‘brother’ and hugged him. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see my little sister, what do you think?”

“Little sister! I was just a few hours later than you!” She scoffed as she ushered him in, brushing the soot from his clothes.

* * *

 

**[ _9:45 AM_**

**To:** **Jenna S.**

 **_Heading to the park, Neville came for a surprise visit btw. Alright if he joins us?_ ** **]**

**[ _10:02 AM_**

**From: Jenna S.**

**_The more the merrier! Besides, he’s good to look at._ ** **]**

**[ _10:10 AM_**

**To: Jenna S.**

**_I don’t need the mental image._ ** **]**

**[ _11:07 AM_**

**From: Jenna S.**

**_Just got to the park._ ** **]**

* * *

Elijah followed the overly preppy blonde woman leading him through the town that had once been his home over a millennia ago. He could still picture it as it had been then, the spot where Niklaus proposed, the place where Henrik had died, they passed all of these places and he listened with half an ear at the history that had happened long after they had left. He was only mildly interested in the stories, more keen to get a handle on the woman raising the current Petrova doppelganger and was apathetic towards the friends that they were bringing along.

“They’re right over here.” Jenna Sommers said as she led them to the playground. A flash of red hair caught his attention and he shook the feeling of familiarity that washed over him. Her hair alone would have been enough to entice Niklaus who seemed to be filling the void left by Astrid’s death with women and other excessive pleasures. Though there were more red-haired or green-eyed women (or women who had both) on his list than any other, Aurora de Martel was just the first (though he suspected that Klaus had convinced himself that he was in love with her because she bore a passing resemblance to his lost love).

The woman turned as though sensing them and Elijah’s blood froze. _‘Astrid’_ his mind whispered as he stared at the once beloved face. A doppelganger? Perhaps. Though to be so close to the Petrova doppelganger seemed like fate’s way of screwing up with Niklaus’ plan then. A child’s laughter interrupted them as a dark-haired man approached with a little boy on his shoulders. _‘Asbjorn’_ his mind interrupted him again and he was suddenly pulled back into the past on the day that his family had fled America.

“Elijah these are my friends from England, Ianthe Potter-Black, and her cousin Neville Longbottom. The little boy is Ianthe’s son Teddy.” Jenna said and Elijah tore his eyes away from the faces of his long dead friends to stare at the laughing child. His face had the same aristocratic features that Ianthe and Neville bore but with his sandy blonde hair and silver-blue eyes he could easily have been passed off as Niklaus’ child and he froze again, how was his brother going to react to the news that there was a doppelganger of Astrid’s running around with a child.

The sheer destruction his brother would cause to get to the woman he coveted and loved was already a given, even if she held not the same memories or love for him, how he would react to the child would be another matter entirely, a wild card, that. And he pushed those thoughts aside because his brother would be dead by his hand before he could get anywhere near _these_ doppelgangers, Miss Gilbert’s life may have already been forfeited but theirs haven’t. Would his brother still want to continue on with the ceremony if it was Astrid’s death that was required? For a doppelganger, perhaps, but if it were the true Astrid then he might never agree to it.

He knew that Niklaus had nothing more than a passing fondness for Tatja or Tatia as she would be called, even when they were humans. The fondness was due to his, Elijah’s, own feelings for the woman and the friendship that she had shared with Astrid. It was why he was more than ready to sacrifice Katerina all those years ago. He forced himself to return to the conversation.

“Ia, Neville, Teddy, this is Elijah Smith, he’s the writer who’s interested in small towns in Virginia.” Jenna said happily as they shook hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Elijah said as he tried not to stare at them. The only difference he could see with Ianthe’s face was the lightning-shaped scar on her forehead, the Sowilo rune. As he grasped her hand he tried not to frown at the feel of an odd scar and a surreptitious glance had him internally raging. _I must not tell lies_ was carved into her hand in elegant scripts, practically blended into the skin but to a vampire, it was all too visible.

“And you.” She said with a smile before tilting her head, brows furrowed in confusion as he took him in. “I’m sorry, have we met? It’s just that you seem so… familiar.” She said in the cultured tones of the Queen’s English.

“I thought the same thing when I saw him.” Neville said from beside her, accent the same as Ianthe’s.

Elijah held in his shock. Doppelgangers had no recognition of the people that the previous doppelgangers had met or known, he knew this. So perhaps they weren’t doppelgangers. Reincarnation then? It was far-fetched but it would do for now. “I might just have that face.”

The two agreed but they seemed unconvinced. Teddy took that time to demand his release and Elijah watched as Neville kneeled to the ground and allowed Ianthe to take the child into her arms. She was young, perhaps twenty-three or twenty-four years of age and the boy couldn’t have been older than seven or eight. A young and single mother then, from the lack of an engagement or wedding ring on her finger.

Throughout lunch and the tour he paid attention to the two cousins and grew more convinced of his reincarnation theory. While the doppelgangers shared some similar personality traits, their mannerisms were usually different. But the cousins had all of the same mannerisms, dislikes (“Nev! Stop banging on the table you’re giving me a headache!”; “It’s not banging, Ia! I’m just tapping my fingers.” Or “Ia, please stop humming while we’re eating!”), and even the same likes. It was uncannily accurate to what he remembered of the twins and he blinked at them. It was like they’d been grabbed from the past, dressed in the clothes of the 21st century, aged up, and told to speak in English.

Even the child could have been accurate. It was common knowledge amongst the siblings (after Rebekah had blurted it out) that the 18-year-old Astrid had been pregnant with Niklaus’ child. It could have just as easily have been this boy. By the time the small British family parted ways with them Elijah had gotten a headache. Should he include them with the deal he was proposing to Miss Gilbert? Or would that bring them into Niklaus’ attention?

Perhaps it would be better not to. Even if they did somehow draw his little brother’s attention, his brother wouldn’t move against those three. Not when Ianthe held the face of his lost love and she didn’t even have any significance to the ritual. No, the better to keep them away from the suspicions of even the populace of Mystic Falls.

Elijah nodded to himself, mind already made up. That was when a familiar flash of hair caught his attention as Jenna waved a girl over. It seemed it was time to meet the current Petrova Doppelganger and strike a deal.

* * *

Ianthe pursed her lips as soon as Teddy had disappeared up the stairs. She turned to Neville who looked grimly contemplative. “He’s lying. He knew us.” She said in the silence of the sitting room.

“Yes, but he’s a vampire. Perhaps he knew us in a past life?” Her ‘brother’ offered.

She ‘hmmed’ as she heard that, she didn’t know what the truth was but she did know that she was more than passingly acquainted with this Elijah ‘Smith’. The last name didn’t seem to fit so she was left with the assumption that he wanted to go unnoticed in the meantime. A part of her was seriously considering just moving away at this point. She’d kept her head down and her nose out of the trouble that Elena and her friends had gotten into, even though she regretted it at times.

“I thought you said this was a quiet town?” Neville demanded as they took the tea that Winky served them with a grateful nod.

She sighed. “It is or was. Look, when I moved to Mystic Falls after graduating from Cambridge I had four reasons that convinced me it was for the best. 1. I wanted to help out one of my best friends during what is undoubtedly one of the most difficult times in her life; 2. I was offered a residency an hour away from here; 3. Because it’s an easy floo to MACUSA where I teach; and 4. This is supposed to be a safe and quiet town that is ‘absolutely perfect to raise Teddy in’.” She said.

“And how many of those are still true?”

“Just the third. Since the Gilbert teens aren’t really cooperating and keep getting into trouble without confiding in their aunt, I’ve been asked to pick up some slack until a replacement could be found for Dr. Gilbert on top of my surgical residency and finally, the towns death rate has skyrocketed in the past few months ever since those vampires started arriving. But hey, at least it’s still an easy floo to the MACUSA!” She ranted in frustration.

Neville waited for her to calm down before pointing out the one thing that had made it worth it. “But at least you got to meet Matt, I know you’ve practically adopted him.”

Ianthe felt herself soften at the thought of the teen and she nodded. Her mind turned towards Tyler and Caroline, those two didn’t know that she was a witch but they did know that she knew about werewolves since they had approached her about it after Caroline heard her talking to Mason about it.

_“Hey, you’re Mason right?” Ianthe asked the man._

_He smiled flirtatiously at her but thankfully there was none of the leering that she had come to associate with those smiles. “And you’re Ianthe.”_

_“I know you’re a werewolf.” She said, choosing to be blunt. Mason’s smile slid from his face and he stared at her in alarm but she merely raised her hand to stop him. “Look, Teddy’s father was a werewolf. While I don’t have first-hand experience in the change itself, I know that it can be quite painful, I still have a few things that have helped to ease the pain a bit. If you’re interested you can just come by my house and pick it up.” And with that, she walked away from the gobsmacked man._

Damon Salvatore killed the man that very night so she didn’t know if he would have taken the offer but Caroline seemed to believe her words and she had dragged Tyler to her house. Ianthe had feigned ignorance that Caroline was a vampire and focused on Tyler instead. A part of her was righteously furious by the actions of Elena and her friends, that they were so willing to kill someone who was led on and that they had thought that they would be able to pull off their half-assed plan without anyone dying but she chose to stay away from it for Teddy’s sake.

A chime interrupted her thoughts and she brought out her communication mirror, hand swiping in front of it as a woman’s face appeared. She smiled at the sight of the red-head in the mirror. The sounds of small explosions flitted through the mirror.

“Hello, Sage!” She called out cheerily to her former minder.

Sage’s face broke into a smile when their eyes connected. “Hey, kiddo. Sorry for the noise, your father is just busy making some more prank items for his latest prank war.” Her voice was tinged with a bit of frustration and Ianthe smiled at her adoptive father’s antics. Sirius Black was and always will be a prankster.

“It’s fine.” She said waving it off. “Did you need anything?”

“Not really, I just wanted to check up on you and see if my favorite student had done anything idiotic in the past week.”

“Hmm… define idiotic.”

“That kid is very impulsive. I think I might have indulged him a bit too much when I was teaching him.” Sage said with a shrug.

“That’s obvious, given the fact that he clearly lacks the proper manner and restraints to play in polite society.” Ianthe said with a snort.

“Anything else? You seem kinda troubled.” Sage asked looking worried.

She and Neville shared a glance and he nodded towards the mirror. “A new vamp strolled into town. I feel like I know him, Neville does too. And it isn’t just the ‘oh I’ve met you once or twice’ it’s a feeling of ‘I’m pretty sure we were friends’.”

Sage blinked at them before instantly becoming alert. “Did you get this vampire’s name?” She asked sharply.

“Yeah, Elijah Smith, though we’re pretty sure Smith isn’t his real name.”

“Handsome, brown hair and brown eyes, looks good in a suit, kinda stiff?”

“Got it in one. So you know him?”

Sage hissed but stopped herself. “He’s one of Finn’s brothers.”

“So I’m taking it as he’s Finn’s Elijah. That just leaves this mysterious Niklaus as the only person I haven’t met either in person or in my dreams.”

Sage nodded but whatever she would have said was lost when a larger explosion rocked the house that Sage was in. “Look, I have to make sure your father’s okay but talk to Finn. And if you can…” Ianthe nodded kindly, she knew that Sage missed Finn so much and she vowed to get them some time alone in their dreams more until she could reunite them. Ianthe was worried that none of the vampires would remember what happened in the dreams when they wake up but pushed it aside for now.

* * *

_Finn was sitting away from his siblings as he watched them contemplatively. It had been around twenty years since he had been pulled into Astrid’s dreams for the first time and he had never been closer to them. A part of him felt guilty for pulling away from them, for turning a blind eye at the injustices their parents dealt to Niklaus, perhaps had he been there he would have been able to stop his little brother’s descent into the man that he had turned out to be. He had left the care of his younger siblings in the hands of Elijah who in turn relied on Niklaus to protect them._

_He wasn’t blinded to the fact that he hadn’t been a good brother. As much as he loved them, he had been apathetic, the trauma of losing Freya had destroyed him. While he hated what he had become his continuing depression had led Niklaus to fear that he would take his own life and that had resulted in this prolonged stay in a coffin. Some questioning amongst his siblings had shown that they were only daggered whenever they became too rowdy and had caught their father’s attention. Niklaus for all of his faults and extreme ways was still trying to protect them, ever the defender. It should have never fallen to him or Elijah to care for them but it seemed that they were now stuck in the role of protector._

_A part of Finn never confessed that a part of his self-loathing came from the fact that he was supposed to have been watching Henrik that night but hadn’t bothered to check on his baby brother. His brother’s death was tied to Astrid’s because he knew that when Astrid had come across Henrik she would have dragged him home. They were after all, on the path to their house. All the events that had led to their turning had stemmed from his apathy._

_Freya had been horrified to learn about the monster their father had become. So far from the loving and gentle father that had doted on her. It had stoked more fire in her hatred against their mother, had she never been sold to their aunt then their father would never become the abusive man that took his anger out on an innocent child. But then Niklaus would have never been born, or would he have?_

_Had Niklaus been their brother in full then he wouldn’t have been a werewolf and their mother wouldn’t have bound him, Niklaus wouldn’t have lashed out and killed their mother and they wouldn’t have been forced to choose a side. Their father wouldn’t have even begun to hunt them and perhaps their father, who may have sensed that Niklaus was not biologically his, wouldn’t have taken his anger out on Niklaus. But that was too many what-ifs that would never be truths._

_“So… guess what happened today!” Astrid said as she took a seat beside him._

_Finn turned to her with a brow raised. “Let me guess… Sage’s protégé and his little gang pulled off another idiotic plan that got someone killed while they were able to escape relatively unscathed?”_

_His friend laughed. “No, I met one of your brothers.”_

_Finn sat up straight his head turning to her, eyes sharp. Could it be Niklaus? Could he finally be free? He tamped down his excitement. “Oh? Which one?”_

_“Elijah ‘Smith’. He’s a bit formal and stiff.” She said and he exhaled slowly as she stared at him. Well, wherever Elijah is, Niklaus will always be close by. It was one of those universal facts, they had their own orbit, one not unlike what he shared with Freya or what Kol and Rebekah had. Henrik was often with their mother, his youth leaving him with their mother or to follow along with whatever siblings would allow him to that day. Though in his last few days it hadn’t been with either Elijah or Niklaus. The two had been busy with their lady loves, Elijah with his courtship with Tatia and Niklaus with his engagement to Astrid._

_“That sounds a lot like him.” Finn said with a smile as he thought of his brother._

_“That’s actually how Sage described him when we spoke earlier.”_

_Finn waited for her to continue, eager to know more about his beloved. He knew that Rebekah and Sage would never be close or true friends but they had come to some sort of détente. She was now part of their ‘inner circle’, Rebekah had grudgingly accepted her as his one. So now anyone who wasn’t them was the enemy._

_“She wants to see you. I can arrange something for you tomorrow. The moment she falls asleep she’ll be here.”_

_Finn gave her a warm smile. It had been too long since his beloved. “And Elijah?”_

_“Harder. I don’t have a true tie to him. I don’t know if I would be able to bring him here. Unless, of course, he gets daggered.” She told him._

_“Then Sage will be more than enough.” He told her before she disappeared from his view._

* * *

Niklaus grinned as he knocked at the door of the Gilbert residence. This body was proving to be more useful than he’d originally thought. Jenna Sommers allowed him in, though with reluctance and quite a bit of a frosty reception as she led him to the kitchen.

It was the scrapbook on the counter that had him freezing. The woman in the picture was someone he knew quite well. Was it possible that his Astrid had a doppelganger? No, not just Astrid. Asbjorn had one as well. They were in the pictures with Jenna Sommers, one of the pictures had a birthday cake in front of Astrid and Asbjorn. _Happy Birthday, Ianthe and Neville!_ It read.

A few flips showed the pictures changing from the British scenery to some of the more familiar surroundings of Mystic Falls. Perhaps it would be best not to use Jenna Sommers in his plans then. He didn’t know if he could bear the thought of Astrid hating him, even if it was just a doppelganger. Still, it would be okay to scare them though. He smiled through the awkward lunch, a few prompting questions had him learning more about this doppelganger named Ianthe.

“What is this about, Rick?” Jenna demanded and he launched into a mocking spiel about his vampiric obsession before being slammed into the wall by Stefan.

The moment they were gone he straightened his clothes and grabbed the scrapbook, eyes hungrily pursuing the image of this doppelganger. Her face was much the same though the scar on her forehead gave a marked difference. His eyes narrowed as he took in the image of the child often with Ianthe and he hissed at the thought of another man having her. She might not have been the original Astrid but she was still _his_. Though perhaps it would be best if he learned to accept the child. He could forgive her this indiscretion since she knew him not and to be lenient and allow the boy to live would show that he was merciful and might endear him to her all the quicker.

Well, it was time to return to his minions. He tucked the scrapbook into his arms and closed the door behind him. He smiled as he saw the pieces fall into place. Soon, his curse would be broken, he would have his army, his siblings would be reunited with him, and he would have his girl. A millennia later and his life was finally coming together. Just a bit more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sowilo rune looks like lightning and is meant to symbolize the sun, light, success, life. The illumination and understanding of the higher mysteries and awareness. It also stands for devastating and unstoppable power and the resistance to death and darkness, the triumph of light over dark. Which is really a good symbolism for Ianthe during the war. It also contains the code of honor, the thing that holds society together. -From tirage-rune-magie.net and runesecrets.com
> 
> There's a lot of misconceptions going around here. The first is that Finn and the others trapped in the dream realm believe that Klaus and Elijah are on good terms and are traveling together; the second is that Elijah believes that Klaus had finally cracked and had become the monster their father was and had truly dumped their siblings' bodies into the ocean; and third, Klaus believes that Elijah knows him better than anyone and would know that he spread that lie primarily to protect his siblings from their father, and because he was angry at Elijah. Anyway, tell me what you guys think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenna is furious and lets out a bit of her Black Temper (diluted though it may be), Elijah finally gets the confirmation he needs, and Ianthe thinks that the Mystic Falls gang sucks at planning and lets them know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Folks, no Finn or Klaus in this chapter. But we're getting to the sacrifice.

Jenna’s blood boiled with rage as she recalled what this ‘Klaus’ had done to her sort-of-boyfriend. Are they still together after all the lies that he has told her? The secrets? It didn’t matter though, the sanctity of the body and the spirit and no, not in a religious way, but in a moral way… Klaus has defiled that by possessing someone. She might not have gone to Hogwarts like her friends had, she might have only discovered her magical roots and her gifts in the last seven years and had no formal training but she knows enough about magic to know that such a thing was forbidden.

Stefan took her to the boarding house while they assessed the danger she was in with Klaus when Elijah Smith entered the house with Elena. From the moment she had seen Elijah she had known that he was a vampire, an ancient one at that, but he had seemed calculating and honorable… noble, really so she had let her guard down. After the debacle with Klaus, she was more alert than ever before. She glared at the man.

“Elena! Get away from that vampire!” Jenna commanded.

Elena’s head snapped towards her, shock written on her face. “You… Aunt Jenna, you know about vampires?”

“You mean after finding out that some douche named Klaus who is apparently a vampire walked into our house possessing my boyfriend who apparently is a vampire hunter.” Jenna said and she saw Elena flinch but she continued on. “But you know what? I’ve known about vampires for years. I knew what the Salvatores were before you had even figured it out. I was just waiting for you to say something.”

The accusation was clear in Jenna’s voice, she knew that, but she had also known that her niece was playing a dangerous game. Everyone was just staring at her in shock. “How… how did you find out?” Elena asked, face pale.

“I found out in England. Ianthe and Neville’s parents were friends with quite a lot of vampires and werewolves who became their minders after they were orphaned. They all worked together to protect their friend's children. That was also how I knew that Mason was a werewolf.” She said with a sneer. Her anger reaching new heights now that she had discovered what had happened to her childhood friend.

“We had too! He exposed Stefan and Damon!” Elena justified. Jenna could see Elijah standing to the side, watching them with interest. She had noticed the special attention he had paid Ianthe and Neville during the tour and how his gaze had sharpened when she had mentioned the cousins’ minders. She let it go, for now, intent on getting her mind across. She wasn’t usually this temperamental but it had been building for quite a while now.

“And that makes murder alright? Look, I understand the fact that they’re vampires and they need to drink human blood in order to survive. Fine, sure, that’s their instinct, their nature! But killing someone in cold blood, that was murder and the fact that you can so easily cover it up, that you can just turn a blind eye at this? That you would be willing to do the same to Tyler who is only dangerous one night out of a month when your boyfriend can so easily lose control at any time? That’s hypocritical and I’m telling you now Elena, you’re heading down a dark path.” Jenna warned.

“You have no right to judge me! You don’t know…” Elena began but was cut off by Jenna raising a hand to silence her.

“I have no right? Elena! I’m your guardian! And you… what your friends have been doing? You’ve been getting people killed. Did you even stop to think about a werewolf’s nature? The part about them being wolves… they carry some of those traits over as humans. They find packs just like normal wolves do and packs always come to avenge their fallen. Believe me. So tell me, have werewolves started coming here? Killing people because you killed Mason? Did you anger them so much that the people in this town have become open season for them?” Jenna challenged and she could see the defiant look in Elena’s eyes even as she quailed a bit at her words.

It seemed that Elena still couldn’t understand the repercussions of her actions. And why would she? She was still a teenager, a sheltered one at that. And her friends were little better. The vampires in her lives were ill experienced and from the looks of it, were petulant and kept swinging between petulance and homicidal rage born from overprotectiveness directed towards her niece. And as much as she loved Elena, she wasn’t blind to the fact that the death rates had skyrocketed from the moment the brothers had entered Mystic Falls.

“Now, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to call your friends while I call Ianthe and you can all tell me what the fuck is going on around here.” She demanded.

They were all staring at her, she knew that they weren’t used to this side of her. In fact, she rarely let it out. She was still the great-granddaughter of Iola Black after all, and the fierce temper was in her, it just took a little bit longer. She gave them all a glare and Elena’s friends rushed to do her bidding.

**[ _1:49 PM_**

**To: Ianthe P.**

**_Salvatore Boarding House ASAP. Bring Neville and whoever else along._ ** **]**

**[ _1:50 PM_**

**From: Ianthe P.**

**_OMW. Have Dudley too._ ]**

* * *

 

The bell rang within ten minutes and true to her word, Ianthe was there with Neville and Dudley. She looked composed as she strode in, brow raised at the sight of Elijah standing in the corner. She pursed her lips, eyes taking in his features and found them to match Kol’s and Finn’s. Something about him was familiar, beyond just being her dream friends’ brother.

The other teenagers began to arrive at that moment and they all sat down. Ianthe stared at her friend expectantly, she knew Bonnie couldn’t feel it but she and her cousins could. The magic within her distant cousin was flaring madly and she could feel the beginnings of a magical tempest within the room. She closed her eyes and sent out her magic, willing it around her cousin like a warm embrace, soothing emotions sent to her as she touched Jenna’s hand. The effect was immediate and she knew that the others were able to sense the shift in the atmosphere as Jenna relaxed.

“Now then, what is this all about?” She asked once Jenna had taken a seat beside her.

It was Elijah who spoke. “For the past few weeks, some of you have been scrambling around trying to get to the moonstone, the supposed source of the sun and the moon curse. But in reality, that curse is a lie. The true curse is one that binds my brother, Klaus’ other nature. He was born from an affair that my mother had, his biological father was a werewolf and when our mother turned us into vampires, his other side was triggered and he became a hybrid, my mother’s secret had gotten out and our father was furious, my mother cast a spell to bind that side of Klaus and the key is the moonstone.”

“Just how long ago was this curse?” Dudley asked, he was fascinated by the curse but he knew that there was more to this than what he was saying.

“It happened within days of our turning. A thousand years ago.” Elijah replied smoothly. There was no hesitation and his tone was flat.

There was still something missing. A piece of the puzzle. “But that’s not all, is it? Otherwise, he would have been able to break the curse the moment he had gotten his hands on that stone so something tells me that there are other components to this.” Ianthe said as she stared at the Original Vampire.

“You’re right. He’ll need a werewolf and a vampire.”

“And?” Neville prompted. “Ia’s right. If that was all he needed he could have broken it immediately.”

“And he needs to sacrifice Elena Gilbert, the current Petrova Doppelganger. The original doppelganger’s blood and death had been used to cast the curse.” Elijah confessed.

Jenna groaned as her head dropped into her hands, shoulders shaking. “And because they were such idiots there are now both werewolves and vampires here.” She said.

“Do you have the moonstone with you now? I’d really rather study it for myself to see if there are alternate ways of breaking this curse.” Ianthe said, head tilting to Elijah.

“We, uh… we kinda lost it to Katherine.” Bonnie said, shifting uncomfortably.

“And who, might I ask, is this Katherine?”

“She was the previous Doppelganger. She ran away from Klaus and stole the moonstone once she realized he was planning on sacrificing her.”

“Wait! Let me get this straight, there’s an evil Doppelganger of Jenna’s niece running around and none of you bothered to warn her when it’s so easy to compel or convince her that it’s Ms. Gilbert and lure her into a trap?” Dudley asked appalled.

From the looks of the teenagers’ faces, it was clear that none of them thought of this. _‘Amateurs!’_ She thought loudly projecting it into the minds of her friends. Neville merely rolled his eyes at her while Elena Gilbert stammered through another round of protests, trying to defend their decisions. They were ill prepared and it seemed like they were flying by the seat of their pants. While her plans were often risky, she always ensured that everything was thought out first, that the casualties were at a bare minimum. During the war, that was very rarely achieved… but this… this should have been easy if they had any common sense between their brains.

“Alright, any chance of getting it back from this Katherine?” Ianthe asked but the silence told her everything. Katherine must have already given it to this Klaus person.

“Did any of you actually get your hands on this moonstone?” She tried again.

“We… we had it but Katherine stole it from us.” Bonnie said hesitantly.

Ianthe looked at them. “Let me guess, you lot placed it somewhere you thought was clever but was actually very predictable.”

They all turned to Damon who refused to meet their eyes. “You idiots actually kept it here?” She screeched. They all quickly leaped to their defenses and the story spilled from their lips.

Ianthe raised her hand to silence them. “Shall I elaborate how dumb your plans are? I’ve already spotted several key flaws in all of your plans. 1. Killing Mason brought his pack here which gives Klaus a direct access to other werewolves. 2. I’m guessing you all knew the trigger for the werewolf gene but instead of keeping an eye on Tyler to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone, you lot were probably all for killing him which allowed him to kill someone, even if it had been in self-defense.” She said as she began to enumerate.

“3. All of you thought that confronting Katherine inside a public location would work without any fatalities and I can assure you, she’s probably planned for everything, it took you some pretty brute force to deal with her, didn’t it? Would have probably been more effective if you didn’t have to keep an eye out for civilians. At least no one would have died. 4. You had the opportunity to end that two-faced bitch but you didn’t. One thing you’ll have to understand is that people like that will always do what serves them best and the best thing to do is to end the threat.” She paused to let her words sink in. Her mind turning to Pettigrew immediately.

“And 5. You lot were stupid enough to keep it in plain sight and within the town.” She turned to Bonnie again. “You’re a witch aren’t you? Why didn’t you create a container that negated any tracking spells? Why not throw it into the water or send it somewhere else so that Klaus would be suitably distracted, no moonstone, no need for the Petrova doppelganger and I’m sure he would have tried to do everything to keep her alive so that another doppelganger would be born in the future.” She finished and she relished the silence that ensued from her tirade as they were staring at her with wide-eyed realization (or at least the children were). She was certain that _her_ plans were never that bad.

Elijah chose that time to explain his plan as he brought out a box with an ‘elixir of life’. Well… there was only one elixir of life that she knew off and the time frame might work. She glanced at her cousins and they stared blankly back at her.

“So your plan is to use a magical elixir without an expiration date?” Damon asked incredulously as he inched closer to Elena.

“May I have the elixir? I want to examine it.” Ianthe asked.

“Yes, of course.” Elijah handed her the bottle. It was clearly full, and the bottle was old but she recognized the make of it.

Uncorking the bottle she sniffed it before handing it to her cousins. Grabbing a medicine dropper from her emergency kit, a tissue, and a seed from the packet she’d bought for her garden, she wordlessly summoned an empty flower pot and some dirt to the surprise of nearly everyone.

“You’re a witch!” Bonnie gasped.

She raised another brow at the girl for stating the obvious. “Yes, and my cousins have magic as well. Jenna knows this because we are distantly related through her mother, Miranda Gilbert’s stepmother.”

“So, Jenna’s a witch too?” Jeremy asked confused.

“Yes, she discovered it through an inheritance test that we’d done. She’s been learning slowly when she has the time.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Elena demanded.

“Like you all told me about your misadventures? It goes both ways, Elena.” Jenna said angrily.

A drop of the elixir on the planted seed saw it grow into a beautiful flower within seconds and everyone gasped at the life blooming instantly. “So it works. That’s good to know. Still not sure I want to chance Elena’s life on that.” Damon said.

“You wouldn’t happen to have gotten this from a Nicholas or Perenelle in Paris did you?” She asked Elijah.

“Yes, I did. A reputed alchemist named Nicholas Flamel before he died of old age.”

She and her cousins snorted at that. “Aren’t the Flamels your mentors in alchemy and potions?” Jenna asked confused.

“Yeah, they just celebrated their 655th wedding anniversary last May. My family and I went, it was a lovely celebration. It was a shame you couldn’t come with us. I really wanted you to meet Penny, that woman can outdrink werewolves.” Ianthe said with a fond smile at the thought of her mentors. Penny had been the one who taught her all about the habits of the French women and how to blend in with them. Sirius was most displeased when she started using it to charm boys.

“That’s… that’s impossible!” Stefan exclaimed.

“Yeah, no. Elixir of life remember? It extends life, rejuvenates, makes things grow… not… well, not restore things to life. I should know, they gave me the ancient texts of Abraham the Jew to decode it when I was ten and it was a bitch. We were vacationing in Italy and I barely spent time outside because it was highly sensitive and frail.” She said with a scowl. It had taken her a long time to decipher it and between that and her correspondence course with the Euro-glyph school… she had barely had enough time. Her childhood had been loving and fun but there was a lot of structure to it, her lessons both mundane and magical were bolstered with etiquette, politics, arts, music, dance, and muggle sports much like Dudley and Neville’s had been.

All of it to prepare for the eventual shit storm of the Noseless bastard and they were right in the end. It took all of her lessons on pureblood protocol to navigate the antagonistic climate that Fudge had set up against her and it took all of her lessons in mundane and magical self-defense and the like to win the war. In the end, it still hadn’t been enough and she’d lost a lot of loved ones.

“So we have nothing? Great!” The sarcastic drawl came from Damon. Even Elijah seemed troubled by it.

“Forgive me for presenting you with the realities that you are all faced with.”

“I thank you for telling me what would have been a fatal error, Ms. Potter-Black.” Elijah said.

Ianthe shook her head and handed him the elixir before staring at him once more. She and Neville had discussed confronting him about his familiarity with them and now seemed as good a time as any. She flicked her eye at her cousins, brothers really and knew they were thinking the same thing.

* * *

Elijah had been quiet for the most part, more content on watching the interactions of the people around him. While he was still sore over Elena Gilbert going back on her word not once but twice, he wasn’t surprised. Not by any of the children or the vampires in their cohorts. What did surprise him was the seemingly unassuming guardian of the Gilbert children.

She seemed so docile, a bit too cheerful, but harmless. That was, at least, until his little brother possessed her boyfriend and she’d revealed her knowledge of the supernatural. It was surprising to see her turn from such a gentle if a bit scatterbrained woman to a spitfire with a sharp grasp on the situation as she took control. It had been amusing to see them scramble to meet her demands but it was more shocking to learn that Ianthe and Neville or Astrid and Asbjorn had been raised by _both_ vampires and werewolves, two races that had been enemies from the bitter beginning.

When she had appeared with Asbjorn and a stocky blonde-haired man, he took the time to look for more hints of his friends in the two of them. She was smart and had a sharp tongue and wits about her. A brilliant mind, calculating and strategic, much like Niklaus without the cruelty that his brother had developed after the loss of his love. She was still a match for his brother and one that may have had the ability to temper him had things been different.

Her excellent grasp of magic, her connection to the Sommers woman, her unique upbringing… he knew it would all entice his brother even without the benefit of her face and form. He wasn’t blind to the looks that she and Neville had been sending him, wariness and curiosity. He was curious as well. He needed to know if it truly was them, _her_.

“Elijah, answer me honestly.” She began, her tone brooking no argument. “You recognized Neville and I. How?”

Everyone quietened as she leveled him with a stare that he knew well. The one that made it obvious that she would not suffer any lies because she would know in an instant any lies that spew forth. He pursed his lips. “You are the exact replicas, doppelgangers, of two of our friends from our lives as humans.” He answered.

“So why don’t we just use them, then?” Damon asked and Elijah glared at him. He’d burned by Katerina’s actions before and he held no true fondness for this doppelganger but he wasn’t going to allow Astrid or Asbjorn’s doppelgangers or reincarnations to get hurt and he knew that Klaus wouldn’t take any action against them either.

“Because it wasn’t their blood that had been used. It was the Original Petrova Doppelganger’s blood, not theirs.”

“I think…” Neville began as he stared at him. “that you are working under a misapprehension. We aren’t doppelgangers.” He said gesturing to the two of them.

“Oh yeah? Then what are you?” Damon challenged.

“There are no doppelgangers in our family lines. Neville and I have been trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation for several millennia, it’s come to the point where we don’t automatically remember everything. Sometimes we don’t remember one life because there are no instances that would provide us with any triggers.” Ianthe said and Elijah’s heart leaped, this was proof.

It was such a twist of fate that the only one who could possibly reach Niklaus now didn’t remember him and was working against him but… well… his blood family may be far from him now but at least he had them. Maybe, maybe they could be his family once more? Maybe he could get back the old familial relationship he had with the two. Whatever the case, he was determined to protect the twins from Niklaus’ greedy and destructive grasp. The monster that he is now, the monster that could so easily dispose of his siblings didn’t deserve them, didn’t deserve _her_.

“So what are we going to do about Klaus?” Jeremy Gilbert asked.

“We are going to go through with the ritual. There’s no way he’s just going to let me go and he’s going to tear this town apart. I’m not going to stand aside and let that happen.” Elena said determinedly. “But you have to keep your promise and keep them safe.”

“I will.” Elijah vowed.

“Elena, no!” Bonnie gasped in shock. “I can do this. I’m a powerful witch and I can channel the others.”

“I’m sorry? Channel the others?” Dudley said with a frown.

“Yeah, the power of a hundred witches executed at the same spot. It should be enough to kill Klaus.” Bonnie said.

Elijah saw the twins glance uneasily at one another and at Dudley. “Don’t you have other witches that can help you? Channeling that much power can kill you and neither my cousins or I can even channel another person’s power. Our familial magic won’t allow it. Family magic sure, not some dead stranger’s.” Neville explained.

“Unfortunately, my two warlock companions have died during minor skirmishes between our groups.” Elijah said dryly.

“Wow.” Ianthe said with a scoff. “As much as I like you guys, your fuck ups really keep piling up. You all keep tearing away your options through your impulsiveness and lack of forethought.”

“I can handle it.” Bonnie insisted but Elijah could see the unease and conflict within Jeremy as if he was preparing to lose either his girlfriend or his older sister.

“So we’re just going to let Elena die?” Damon demanded. “And why aren’t you protesting? She’s your niece!” He said accusingly at Jenna.

“Because I’m thinking strategically. Rather than throwing a tantrum, another option we can take is to get as much information as we need and come up with a better plan but until then, we’ll have no other option if we want to make sure that more people don’t get hurt.” Jenna said, pained.

“You know what? You can all go to hell!” Damon said as he stormed away.

Everyone stared at him for awhile, at a loss. Elena and Stefan clung to each other tightly. From his position, he could see everyone, see the hope in Jenna’s eyes as she turned to Ianthe.

“Can you please…” Jenna began.

“I’ll get someone to do some research in my family’s archives. Surely either the Black Archives or the Potter Archives have something. I can even get Hermione to the Peverell Archives and maybe Hannah can look into the Longbottom Archives.” Ianthe said reassuringly as she pulled out a mirror.

“You’re seriously checking your makeup at a time like this?” Bonnie asked sharply but she was ignored.

“Luna Lovegood.” Ianthe said and Elijah, who had seen quite a lot of magical artifacts in his long life, had been shocked when the reflection changed to a blonde-haired woman with grey-eyes that held a dreamy haze.

“I was waiting for your call, Ianthe. You’re here to ask me more about the moonstone and the curse. I’ve already scried for you and I will tell you this, it would be as you suspect it was. I can tell you no more than what you already know. It would be best to read that letter.” She said dreamily.

“What letter?” Stefan demanded.

Ianthe merely glanced at the window and it opened, not a moment later an owl landed in front of her, dropping a letter written in expensive parchment and elegant script. Ianthe wasted no time in picking it up, handing the mirror to Neville while Dudley offered the owl some treats. Her eyes widened as she read what was undoubtedly a short letter.

“What does it say?” Elijah asked curiously and was given the letter to read aloud. It truly was short.

_‘Ianthe,_

_Not everything is as it seems. Remember the end of your third year and the revelation at the end of your fourth. Tread carefully in this endeavor, one misstep will cost you much. Perhaps a return to the original spell would work. I trust you can manage this mischief._

_Yours,_

_Bambi.’_

“What the hell does that mean?” Jeremy asked.

“Uhh… third year was nearly getting killed by my werewolf uncle when I made the mistake of being out during a full moon. He was ready to attack me but the moment he got close enough he just sort off… looked at me and left. And fourth year? Hidden enemy? Death? The return of someone long since thought dead? I don’t know but it was definitely a warning and a lot of shit happened in school and I nearly died practically every year just from some of the stunts that I pulled.” Ianthe said and Elijah’s heart dropped at the thought of her out on another full moon and being so close to a werewolf at the time. She had been lucky to escape where she once didn’t.

“But the original spell. Do you have a copy of it?” She asked.

“I have my mother’s grimoire but I don’t see how it could help you, Klaus has torn through that thing more times than I can count.”

“I take it your brother doesn’t practice magic and never bothered to learn.”

“Not really, no. But there is also the problem with the fact that the entire book is written in Elder Futhark.”

“Well it’s a good thing my cousins and I are well versed in Elder Futhark due to our extensive magical education, besides, if we did know one another than the language will come easily to us. It’s happened with the other ancient languages we once spoke.” She said offhandedly.

“Very well. I’ll deliver it to you.” He said.

“Well, if you don’t need me anymore, I have to get back. Daddy and I are going on a trip to find some crumple horn snorkacks. And Ianthe, you’ve got another nasty infestation of nargles.” Miss Lovegood said dreamily.

Ianthe burst into laughter. “Bye, Luna!” She said cheerily.

“Your friend is…odd.” Elijah said.

“She is, she doesn’t see the world the same way we do but she’s a powerful seer and as a wise man once said, the absence of proof does not mean the absence of existence. It’s quite possible that she and her father merely erase their memories once they’ve discovered the existence of whatever mythical animal they’ve found in order to protect them and keep the mystery alive.” She said offhandedly.

“I suppose I can meet you at my home. I’ll allow you a one-time access into my home, my wards will ensure it. The only vampire that’s been there is Caroline and that was only to bring Tyler to me for help in his transformations.” She said as she stood.

“Stefan and I will be going now, I want to spend some more time with him.” Elena said softly before turning to leave.

“Just see yourselves out.” Stefan said before leading his girlfriend away.

Jeremy and Bonnie stood next. “We’ll go too. I want Bonnie to be as prepared as she can be. I’m not taking any chances with either of them.” Jeremy said before standing up.

“Well, it’s a good thing I have the next three days off. Though I was hoping to catch up on some more sleep, I’ve had a long shift at the hospital.” Ianthe said as she handed Elijah a slip of paper with an address on it.

The two men with her followed her as she stood and Jenna nodded at him as she led the way. They all stopped dead and Elijah was there in an instant. Alaric Saltzman stood on the other side of the door and Elijah wasn’t sure whether it was truly the man or if it was Klaus.

“It’s me. I promise!” Alaric said, alarmed at the weapon that Jenna pointed at him, one that seemingly came from nowhere.

“Why would he let you go?” Jenna demanded.

“He wanted me to deliver a message.” Alaric said. “He wanted me to tell you all that the sacrifice happens tomorrow night.”

Jenna turned to the three cousins who nodded back at her and she deflated. “Okay. We were just heading to Ianthe’s house to look for anything that might help.”

“Ianthe? Why? What good can she do?” Alaric asked confused.

Ianthe smiled at him in amusement. “I’m a witch, Alaric.” She said and smirked at the comical widening of his eyes.

“I… can I come with you. I don’t really want to go back to my apartment and I’ve never been.”

“Wait.” Elijah called out, stepping in. “We don’t know if he’s been compelled.”

“He isn’t. I’ve made sure of that. I cast a diagnostic spell on him.” Neville said with a glance at him.

“There’s something else. He… he took the scrapbook you were making for Ianthe. He seems very interested in her for some reason.” Alaric said hesitantly.

Elijah’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me that my little brother now knows of her existence?” He demanded.

“Yes, I don’t understand why… wait your brother?”

“Apparently, I’m an old friend and ally to Elijah’s family when they were humans. Reincarnation tends to do that. And yes, they are apparently brothers.” Ianthe drawled but Elijah had begun to tune them out. Niklaus now knew about Ianthe, perhaps not that she was his beloved’s reincarnation but that a woman that looked like her lived… that would make him more dangerous.

If he survived, Niklaus wouldn’t just leave when the rituals were complete, no, he would take her as his. Elijah stamped down that thought. It became more imperative for him to kill his brother now more than ever.

“Come to the house as soon as you can.” Ianthe said just before she drove away. Elijah had known many witches in his time and none of them were like her and her family.

* * *

As soon as Jenna and Alaric were settled into a room to refresh themselves and Matt and Teddy sent into the game room, Ianthe turned to her cousins and pulled out the parchment. She knew who the letter was from, how could she not. It was in her own hand and even still, she was alternatively called Bambi and Prongslet her entire life. And ‘manage this mischief’ it had given her the password.

Another owl swooped in and dropped a small package in front of her and was quickly given a treat before being sent away. Her cousins looked at her expectantly as she brought out her wand. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” She said and the words changed in an instant.

_Ianthe,_

_You knew it was yourself writing this in an instant. Don’t worry, you’ll be writing this about two weeks from now. You would have just received a package from me and inside it is an experimental time turner, polyjuice potion, a draught of living death and wiggenweld potion. Remember, just a drop should be enough. I know you’ve had your suspicions about this curse and I’ll tell you everything now._

_The blood that was used to bind the curse was not the blood of the original doppelganger, it was yours. You had died a few days prior and Elijah’s bitch of a mother took off with some of your or our (?) blood. This is perhaps an even greater betrayal to her sons than you can even imagine. The original doppelganger’s name was Tatia and she was Elijah’s love, it would be helpful to note that the original curse that turned them into vampires had used her blood so I suppose it would be easy to take that leap. Besides that, I don’t think any of the siblings had even considered that their mother would go so low as to use the blood of Niklaus’ own recently deceased betrothed._

_That’s right. You may confront Elijah about this (though do keep in mind not to mention the fact that your blood was used, yet), and I am sure you will and he will no doubt tell you that our death had been the end of all that was good and tender in his brother. That it had begun a descent into madness and cruelty and that it had turned him into a monster. Elijah will say this but you must keep in mind, Niklaus does what he can and has hardened his heart to protect his siblings._

_He will not take Elijah’s betrayal well and Elijah is furious at Niklaus for supposedly throwing their daggered siblings into the sea where Elijah would never be able to get to them. I think that Niklaus believes that Elijah knows this to be false but Elijah does not. Ask him yourself, but again, do not mention anything. Let things play out as it will. From here on out, you will be remembering more of your time with them, you and Neville both._

_And it will take awhile to understand but I know you, you will not allow a young woman to sacrifice herself needlessly. You know what you must do. Tread carefully, one wrong move and we’ll be dead for sure. But… Niklaus and his brother **must** believe that you have died. And before I forget, there is a bracelet there, within the package that I’m sure you can guess as to the purpose. In Dumbledore’s words ‘use it well’._

_Best of luck,_

_You_

She handed it to her cousins and Dudley was positively spitting mad as he read it. “I’m sorry, did your future self just say that you have to sacrifice yourself?” He demanded as he finally returned the letter to her. A quick tap of her wand and a whisper of ‘mischief managed’ and the letter was returned to its original state.

“I don’t like it either. And I don’t like all of this about my relationship with Niklaus. Finn and the others never told me.” She said with pursed lips.

“Maybe they don’t want to influence your decisions and your feelings.” Neville offered.

Ianthe looked at him. “I suppose so, but that isn’t how it works. There’s never a guarantee that I’ll love the same person twice. This isn’t exactly the first time that you or I have run into an ex-lover or spouse and all of the other times, there had never been more than passing fondness and care for them. I don’t even know the depths of my feelings for him back then.” She said as she struggled to recall the man.

“Well, I don’t like him.” Dudley declared.

She and Neville turned to him. “You don’t even know him.”

“I don’t care, he’s sadistic and ruthless and is about to use you as a sacrifice! Plus, you probably had sex with him in your past life and he remembers that and you don’t. He’ll try and get you into his bed and I’m not about to allow some ancient pedophile defile my baby sister!” Dudley said angrily.

“Oh Merlin, you sound like Ron.” She said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “And seriously? Ancient pedophile?”

“He sleeps with women who are centuries younger than he is. He’s a pedophile.” Dudley said stubbornly.

“And Elijah is…?”

“Not.”

“Because he has no interest in me.”

“Yes.”

“Even if we found out he was sleeping with a seventeen-year-old girl?”

“Yes, they’re not you. So I don’t care.”

“Okay,” Neville said, clapping his hands to stop the discussion before his brain conjured up any more images of a wrinkly old man trying to get into his sister’s bed.

Just before he could continue, she sat up straight and turned to the door as Elijah’s presence registered with the wards and the gates opened for him. She stood up and walked to the door, it was time to get answers. Her mind already coming up with a plan.

“I’m heading out.” Matt said as he met her in the entryway.

“Oh? Where too?”

“I’ve got a shift at the grill.” He said and Ianthe nodded even though she knew he was lying.

She opened the door for him and allowed him to leave, his head tilting to stare at Elijah as he passed. “Hello, Ianthe.” He said as he handed her the book.

She took it gratefully. “Come in.”

The moment he stepped in he froze and sniffed the air. “Wolf.” He said.

“Yes, that would be my son. His father was a turned werewolf. More along the classical myths, he was bitten and we know that Teddy may turn soon.” She said as she led him inside. This was going to be a long two days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think of the twist? I had this one planned out from the moment I thought of the story. I feel like this would have more impact on him. Also, as for Henrik... well, Astrid was a powerful witch and if I'm bringing him back, I want it to have a larger effect on Esther and the rest so no reincarnation. Tell me what you think. Your words inspire me and kinda help me with where my story goes so don't be afraid to comment on anything cause it helps me improve.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ritual happens and Klaus gets half of what he wants. Elena whines and Jenna gets parental.

Elijah spent the next day and a half in Ianthe’s home barely venturing farther than the gates. He knew that if he went out then Ianthe’s threat would be true, he wouldn’t be able to enter again, so he contented himself with watching the interaction between the people currently within her home. There was nothing but warmth there as they plunged into ancient tomes that Elijah had been surprised existed and the mirrors that worked for communication, he had been bewildered and entranced as Ianthe held court with Jenna, Alaric, and her cousins, and her friends in England.

Matt Donovan, her ward, who despite being a handful of years younger then she had looked to her as a mother of sorts and had taken to young Edward Remus Lupin Potter-Black as a little brother. The child in question often looked to him with innocent curiosity, unbothered by the fact that he was so obviously a vampire. _“He’s used to vampires being around him. He’s just trying to figure out who **you**_ _are away from that.”_ Ianthe had told him offhandedly when he had enquired about it.

The child was endearing and sweet and reminded him of his younger siblings at that age, particularly of Henrik, though his love for magic seemed to be on par with Kol’s. Some of his mannerisms though… those reminded him alarmingly of Niklaus, perhaps it was a wolf thing? There were times when he would Teddy would turn to him, his smile that little mixture of innocently sweet and smugly impish that he would throw and his silvery blue eyes would flash with the slightest hint of green and Elijah felt like he was being thrown back into time to a version of Niklaus that grew up loved and unscathed.

This child, Elijah knew, would grow up to become a _good_ and great man the likes of which Niklaus had been on track to becoming before Astrid had been lost and Elijah prayed to the gods that he had long since stopped believing in that no such thing would happen to derail this boy from that promising future. Elijah had seen the obvious love and care showered on the boy, even when his grandparents appeared to speak to him in the mirror or even any older relation appeared to talk, it had always been with a query on the boy’s health and a request to see him, every spoken word directed at the child was filled with affection and affirmations of love.

Even the scoldings the boy had received were gentle and stern. Ianthe was a wonderful mother, much unlike Elijah’s own. It made him wonder what type of man his brother would have been had he been able to wed Astrid and become the father that he was very much meant to be. Certainly a sight better than their own. Elijah could never imagine a scenario where Astrid would step aside and allow Niklaus to raise a hand or word to any of their children, in fact, Elijah could never imagine his brother doing it to a child of theirs.

He fingered his mother’s grimoire as he thought of the last two days, how the people within the house had come and gone. Tonight he was to confront the monster his brother had become and then… then perhaps he would be welcome here? Among this odd patchwork family of normal humans and vampires, of werewolves and witches. Surely Ianthe and Neville would allow him in, they’d even hinted at remembering certain events, though Ianthe had yet to speak of Niklaus save for when he had first arrived here.

_“Tell me something Elijah.” Ianthe drawled as soon as she had closed the door to the library. “When were you going to tell me that I had been romantically if not sexually involved with your brother?”_

_Elijah glanced at her and saw that her cousins were watching them with weary eyes. “Had I my way, you would never have known. Not when he is so far from the man that you had loved.”_

_“Oh?”_

_“My brother had lost what good he had in him when he lost you. He loved us, but he controlled us as well. What was once a protective nature had turned into a domineering one and what was once caution had turned into paranoia. And this had inspired actions so cruel against others for the smallest of infractions or the daggering of our siblings for their disobedience though I will admit that I had helped him with those.”_

_“And this would lead you to kill your brother? You clearly care for him.”_

_“I love him and there was a time that I would have done anything for him but he has gone too far. He threw our siblings into the ocean, he made it so that I can never reach them again.” Elijah admitted vision red at the thought of his brother’s actions._

_She stared at him. “Who kept them when they were daggered?” She asked quietly, hand reaching out to comfort him._

_“He did. There were times when we needed to separate for our protection, he often took them with him.”_

_“And when did he throw them away?” She asked gently._

_“About twenty or so years ago.”_

_“Nearly a millennia of watching over them, dragging them around, protecting them and suddenly he throws them into the water? That sounds rather contradictory to me.”_

_“He was angry at me and father got too close…” Elijah froze at exposing too much but she tilted her head, something in her eyes gleamed with recognition at the mention of their father. There was anger there, anger and disgust._

_“He was angry, yes, but he trusted you all the same. Perhaps the problem lies in **your** lack of trust. But I do remember your father, he was a beastly man. I remember he was often angry and was physically violent but why would he wish to kill you all?”_

_“He was disgusted at the monstrosity that we had become and that we had chosen to side with Niklaus when he killed mother in the heat of the moment after the curse had been enacted. He has hunted us ever since.”_

_“Do you know when a person is safest from those that hunt them?” She asked suddenly._

_He looked at her curious at the sudden turn in the conversation._

_“When people no longer know that you exist.” She said before striding towards her cousins._

It had seemed as though she had been hinting at something. Was she truly for or against Niklaus’ death? Did she still have some sort of feelings for his brother? But there was a tone of caution in her voice as though she were trying to warn him to choose carefully. But what choice did he have? Kill Niklaus and avenge his siblings as they would want, leaving him all alone or return to Niklaus and pretend that he could live with the fact that he had destroyed their family.

A phone call had interrupted his thoughts and even without his enhanced hearing, he knew what it was about. The look on Ianthe’s face told him everything. It was time. “Klaus has Elena.” She announced as soon as the call was dropped.

“Then I suppose this would be my cue to leave. We’ve already spent too long trying to find another way.” Elijah said as he stood, Alaric following him.

Ianthe followed them to the door but they were intercepted by Teddy who grabbed a hold of his pant leg. He turned to the child a bit bewildered by his actions. The child reached up for him, a hug or a carry and Elijah gave in and scooped the child into his arms. “It’s going to be okay, Mr. Elijah. Aunty Luna said you’ll know soon.” The boy whispered. He stiffened at the mention of the confusing seer, he had been told that she was hardly, if ever wrong.

“Goodbye, Teddy. Be good to your mother.” He said as he returned the child to his feet.

“Bye bye Mr. Elijah.” Teddy said with a grin and a wave. He turned to Alaric and gave him a grin as well before dashing away.

Alaric went out first and allowed him time to say his farewell to his once friend. “Thank you for allowing me to stay.”

“It wasn’t a problem. I’ll see you soon, Elijah. May things play out better than what we all fear.” She said and gave him a surprising hug.

Elijah turned away, something in her eyes screamed resignation and death, it was truly discomfiting. There had been something that she refused to tell him, something privy only to her cousins and it felt important. It was like a part of the picture was missing yet you couldn’t fathom what it was.

* * *

 

As soon as Elijah and Rick had gone, she sighed and called the adults to her study. Matt was at work and she thanked Merlin for that. He would know that she was up to something dangerous immediately and she didn’t know if she could look at him and lie that everything was going to be okay. Jenna was still clueless as to the truth of the situation and had been barely able to keep her composure at the thought of her niece in danger.

“Tell me you have something!” Jenna demanded as soon as she reached her study.

Ianthe looked at her, the woman was frazzled and desperate. “We have something.”

Jenna relaxed. “Okay, now tell me the truth.”

“We have something.”

“Really?” Jenna blinked in surprise before she smiled. “Oh, I knew it. I knew I could count on you. When did you find out?”

“As soon as we got home and I reread the letter.”

“That’s practically been two days. Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Jenna asked in shock.

Ianthe shared a glance with her cousins. “Because we needed things to play out the way that they did. I needed them to react accordingly.”

“And what did you find out?” Jenna asked she knew better than to question them about strategies. Unlike Elena and her friends, the three magicals had grown up trained for combat, had learned at the feet of one of the greatest (but well-meaning) manipulators and strategists, and had led people into a war and come out of it alive.

“It wasn’t Elena’s blood that was used.” Ianthe began and saw Jenna relax further. “It was mine.”

Jenna sprung up again, tightly wound and looking at her with fear. “But… but how is that any better?” She asked.

“It’s better because I, at least, will come back through my next life. Elena doesn’t have that privilege.” Ianthe said.

“Teddy, Matt, your family? What about them?”

“I’ve rarely made it past 25, Jenna. Compared to my other deaths, this would be tame and relatively painless.” Ianthe assured her but her cousins were grim-faced.

“No, there has to be something we can do!”

“If I had the moonstone than we could have delayed it, sent it to Bill and see if anything could be done and negotiated from there but we don’t.”

“Somehow,” Jenna began with a groan as she sat. “it all leads to Elena and her friends making a lot of bad decisions that have lead us to this cluster fuck that you and a few other innocents paying for. That girl is _so_ grounded for life and Jeremy too, come to think of it. And Alaric is definitely sleeping on the couch for a month.”

“There’s another thing…” Ianthe said. “on the off chance that Bonnie survives that suicidal bout of magic, I want you to try and train her, it isn’t the same as our magic but she’s immersing herself far too deep into dark magic.”

Jenna nodded solemnly because even her friend knew the consequences of dark magic. Had heard about what had happened to those who immersed themselves in it. The girl was too young to fully understand the consequences, the loss of oneself that came with it.

“Good. Thank you for being a good friend, Jenna. Now I have to get ready.” Ianthe said as she strode out of the room.

* * *

 

Klaus listened half-heartedly as his minion milled about gathering the things for tonight’s rituals. The pained groans of the werewolf came from the laptop but he paid it no mind. Katherine was knocked out in preparation for her place in the sacrifice and Elena was restrained by magic in another room. Klaus smiled as he read through the information on Ianthe Potter-Black and Neville Longbottom, but mostly on Ianthe.

Her records showed nothing less than a brilliant student with a bleeding heart. A single mother with a six-year-old son, she was a few months shy of finishing a surgical residency. Yes, there weren’t much in the way of anything truly personal, nothing to show him what she liked, what gifts he could give her but he could see that her personality seemed to be similar to how she’d been unlike the doppelgangers.

She and her cousin were members of the Peer. And though there were no listed name on the father of her child, it was clear from the features that he was at least of aristocratic descent. Now, how did one go about winning a child over? Compelling him had been the first thing on his mind but he shook that away, if the child developed a strong enough will then he would begin to fight through his compulsion, nearly impossible but he wouldn’t put it past a child of Astrid’s to be able to break it, that woman was the most bull-headed person he’d ever met.

Perhaps toys would work? And if it didn’t, well… there was always boarding school. He’d just have to put up with the brat during the holidays and have Astrid to himself throughout the rest of the year. After his father was dealt with and his siblings saw that they were finally safe, they would be able to live together as a family. Maybe even caring for the child would help ease Rebekah’s desire of becoming a human and it might even give Finn a thirst for life.

Kol would have to be reeled in somehow. Women or magic? Maybe both. Give him a secluded village to massacre and vent his frustrations and then pick him up. Hmm… there _are_ a few villages isolated within forests. Maybe cover it up with some natural disaster? Elijah could take care of the paperwork necessary, especially for the boy’s schooling, he could even try to instill the same sense of _honor_ that he liked to preach. Yes, that would definitely help.

“Klaus,” Greta purred as she approached him. “it’s time. Everything’s ready.”

He stood up and smirked as she blushed under her gaze. Poor girl, she was so besotted with him. Never mind that, she was disposable, just needed to get through the night then she’d be gone. He dropped the file and grabbed his blazer, his hand brushing the leather around his neck, a gift from Astrid all those long years ago.

* * *

 

Elijah gathered with his ‘allies’ (though that was a stretch considering they’ve already gone back on their word _twice_ ) right outside of the clearing when the magical trio came. It took him a moment to realize that Ianthe was wearing an outfit identical to Ms. Gilbert. He was worried about the conflict in the eyes of the men.

“Ianthe!” Alaric called out in whispered surprise.

Stefan was concerned and hopeful. “Did you find something that could save Elena?”

“Yes.” The answer was short and worrying.

“Are we going to like this?” Alaric asked hesitantly.

“No. _We_ don’t like it but she’s made up her mind.” Dudley hissed angrily, the hand holding Ianthe’s tightening.

“What is it?” Elijah asked worriedly.

“Tatia’s blood wasn’t used for the ritual. Elena doesn’t have to be sacrificed.” Neville said. Elijah blinked, then whose blood had his mother used? He remembered the scent of the blood, so sweet, so intoxicating.

“So we can tell Klaus and he can call this whole thing off.” Stefan said hopeful.

“No, he said Tatia’s blood wasn’t used but someone else’s blood was.” Dudley said tightly. “And that someone is here.”

Elijah’s felt as if he had been doused in cold water as pieces fell into place. No, surely their mother wasn’t sick enough too… “It was my blood. I’ll take Elena’s place in the ritual.” Ianthe said resolutely.

“No.” Elijah croaked. “No, you can’t.”

“I can. I’ve already prepared a potion that would allow me to take on Elena’s appearance and I’ll use a switching spell to take her place with Klaus none the wiser.” She said.

“You’re very well prepared for this. How long have you known?” Alaric asked with suspicion.

“Since I came home and reread that letter. I needed everyone to react the way they would so Klaus wouldn’t suspect anything.” She said with a sigh. “If I had the moonstone it might be different, I could have sent it to someone who specializes in breaking curses but we don’t have the time.”

She turned her gaze to the ritual. Klaus was nearly prepared for everything and the moon was almost at its peak. If Klaus survived and realized what he would have done… Elijah shuddered at the thought of his brother’s further descent into madness.

Ianthe brought out a vial of liquid… well, he didn’t know what it was, it was muddy and bubbled. “It was a good thing I got a few strands of Elena’s hair earlier.” She said as she dropped the strands into the vial and they watched as the liquid glowed and shifted to a warm blue color. “This looks promising and tastier than my first go around with this.” She said lightly as she downed it.

The effects were immediate as her skin shifted turning darker and her hair changed from it’s vibrant red to Elena’s brown. Soon enough, a Petrova doppelganger was standing in front of them. She raised a brow at them, perhaps due to their shocked faces.

“So how’d she taste?” Dudley asked bored. Clearly, he’d seen this before.

“Way better than Crabbe. I think… hmm… cinnamons.” Ianthe said.

“The ceremony should start soon, and it’s a good thing too. That potion only lasts for an hour.” Neville said. Elijah could hear the voices of Ms. Gilbert and Katerina. It seems his brother had finally had it with her.

_“Please, we had a deal!” Katerina begged._

_“We did. You promised to deliver the moonstone, the doppelganger, the werewolf, and the vampire and yet I had to do all of the work. I lacked a vampire and you were there. Gotta work with what you’ve got. You promised me a vampire, I now have it. I promised you that I would stop hunting you, and with you dead… well… you get your wish. It all works out well, love.” Klaus said cheerily._

“Neville, Dudley… Teddy…” Ianthe began forcing Elijah to refocus on her.

“Teddy will know that you love him. He’ll be safe and cared for.” Neville assured her, taking her hand.

“And Matt…”

“He’ll be given his options as a ward of our house. We’ll probably bring him back to England with us.” Dudley said.

“You’ll bring me home too?” She asked carefully.

“We’ll always bring you home.” Neville said kissing her on the forehead.

“You don’t have to do this.” Elijah said as he stepped closer.

“Yes, I do.” She said with a sad smile. “I’ll come back in a few decades.”

“You’ve already died enough times.” Elijah protested.

“I’ve only ever reached twenty-five years thrice in all of my reincarnations. I’ve suspected this would happen.” She said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Take care of yourself, Lij.” She said as she waved her hand, turned and disappeared. Elena Gilbert appeared a moment later looking confused.

Lij. She’d called him _Lij_ just like she’d done back then. She remembered. She was going to her death at the hands of the man that she loved, a man who loved her and would tear the world apart for her. His brother was going to unknowingly kill the woman he loved in his quest to break his curse.

Elijah watched as Stefan Salvatore ushered Miss Gilbert away (though she quietly protested at the impending death of Ianthe). There was one thing that stood out to Elijah, one key difference between Elena Gilbert’s outfit and Ianthe’s, she had no silver bracelet on. Ianthe’s ‘brothers’ stood watching everything going on, they were tense and it was clear that they wanted nothing more than to stop this madness. The question was, would Klaus stop it if he knew that it was Ianthe who stood in the doppelganger's place? Would he care if he didn’t know that she _was_ Astrid reborn and not just some doppelganger?

For the first time in his life, Elijah was unsure of his brother’s course of actions. He could no longer predict his brother. He missed the days when a flash of long red hair from a woman would have Klaus seducing her because it was an established pattern. His brother trying to fill the void left by his beloved’s death… but would he really endanger or kill his beloved’s doppelganger? The mere though settled so heavy on his shoulders, it was like ash had filled his mouth. No, there was no telling what his brother would do but he was at least sixty percent sure that he wouldn’t.

The werewolf ran, Katerina fought, and Ianthe… she stood still. Elijah heard the moment her heartbeat stopped as Alaric shot the witch but it was too late. The curse was broken and Klaus was in transition. He heard his brother laughing loudly as Elijah sped to his brother. Her brothers stood behind, this was no longer their fight. They were here for her body.

He heard his brother stop laughing and let out a strangled gasp. A glance showed that her death had nullified the potion and Ianthe was laying on the ground. “No.” His brother whispered and it looked as if he were about to reach out to grab her when his head snapped up and their eyes met.

“Stop!” He yelled out but Elijah came at him. A blast of powerful magic from the Bennet witch blew them both back.

“Why should I, brother.” Elijah snarled. “After you threw our siblings into the sea, surely you knew that I would come after you.”

“No. I still have them.” Klaus said desperately and it made Elijah pause. “If you kill me, you’ll never find them.”

“You will take me to them.” Elijah snarled but his mind drifted to his conversation with Ianthe. She _had_ known what type of man Niklaus was, even to this day. She had known him far better than Elijah did.

“Yes.”

Elijah lowered his dagger and ran after his brother as he completed his transition. Both he and Niklaus threw one last glance at Ianthe’s body before they ran into the forest. Elijah was mentally preparing himself for the fallout of her second (that they were aware of) death.

* * *

 

“Elijah betrayed us.” Alaric said numbly as he approached Ianthe’s body. Dudley reaching out to pick her up, face melancholy and gentle.

“She knew that Elijah wouldn’t go through with it, just like she knew Niklaus Mikaelson enough to know that he would never just throw away his family like that. He was always far too protective of them, far too… wolf-like. Wolves like being in packs, they protect them.” Neville said as he turned to him from where he was standing by the witch’s body.

“She knew?” Alaric asked.

“You did betray him _twice_. Besides, they were brothers. It would have always been the outsiders versus them. And those two? They were best friends, when they were growing up… Elijah would often turn to Klaus for help in taking care of their little siblings. Finn, their eldest… he was a bit distant with them.” Neville explained.

“What about how Klaus reacted?” Alaric prompted.

“They were in love in her last life. She died a few days before they were to be married. Klaus lost his youngest brother, his betrothed, and their unborn child within the span of two minutes and being turned into a vampire and having his other nature suppressed? It didn’t help.” Neville told him an Alaric was dumbfounded at that. It explained Klaus’ reaction when he saw Ianthe’s body.

“Does… does Jenna know about this? About Ia’s relationship with Klaus? About the sacrifice? About Elijah’s betrayal?”

“Yes.” And that was clearly the end of the conversation because the cousins strode out of the clearing. He rushed after them.

* * *

 

The moment she entered the boarding house, everyone stared at her in disbelief. “Elena?” Caroline asked in shock.

“Hey, Caroline.” Elena said weakly as she thought of Ianthe and Teddy. The boy was going to grow up an orphan because of Klaus.

“Is Klaus dead?” Damon asked as he inspected her. She was still human, he could hear her heartbeat.

Elena shook her head. “It wasn’t my blood that was needed. It was Ianthe’s. She took my place.”

Damon looked shocked but he nodded. John pulled her into a hug and for once, she let him. Bonnie and Jeremy came next, then Jenna. It was almost two hours later when Alaric strode through the door.

“Elijah betrayed us.” He announced as he sat down. “But you already knew that he would. Didn’t you, Jenna?”

They all turned to her but she was watching them. “Ianthe told me that he would. She knew that Klaus would never just throw away his siblings, not after dragging them around and protecting them for nine hundred years. With their siblings safe, Elijah wouldn’t have a reason to kill his best friend and favorite brother.”

“Then Klaus is still out there?” Elena asked.

“Yes. On the bright side, Katherine’s dead. I watched her body burn. It turns out Ianthe’s cousins knew a pretty powerful spell and it turned her and the witch into ashes within seconds.” Alaric told them.

“We have to start planning, we have to be…” Elena said.

“WE…” Jenna emphasized sharply. “will not be doing anything. Klaus has gotten what he wanted, his curse is broken, he has his brother and he’s going to leave.”

“But…”

“No.” She said firmly. “You and Jeremy will be grounded for the entirety of summer. Your cellphones, laptops, everything will be limited. You have to ask permission before you go out, I’m taking away your car keys and you’ll only be allowed to see your friends _and_ Stefan for an hour a week. That goes for you too, Jeremy.”

“Jenna, that’s not fair!” Elena complained because it really wasn’t. She’d done nothing wrong.

“Yes, it is. You both lied to me. You kept secrets. You acted impulsively and made decisions that have gotten people killed. Instead of trusting that adults could help you, you thought you knew what was best. Both of you. You have just proven that your irresponsible and immature and while I commend you for being willing to lay down your life to prevent further bloodshed, it was already too little too late for a lot of people. And maybe I should have pushed the matter beforehand but I tried… I tried to stay the cool fun aunt, I tried to remain your friend but that didn’t work so I’m using my parental authority and I expect you both to follow it.” She told them angrily.

“That wasn’t my fault. That was Katherine’s.” Elena protested again.

“While she shares some of the blame, you all have blood on your hands. The tomb vampires weren’t Katherine’s fault, that was yours. The werewolves coming here and starting a war? That was yours.”

“Jenna…”

“We are done discussing this. Now, I want you to say goodbye to your friends.” Jenna said sternly.

“And Bonnie…” Jenna said as she turned to Elena’s friend. “I promised Ianthe I would help you out with your magic. I might not use magic the same way but I know the basics and she was concerned by how much dark magic you’ve been using. Especially since it causes people to go mad and it chips at their soul.”

Elena turned to her friend who looked just as horrified as she did. Bonnie nodded numbly while Caroline pulled her into a hug. John stood up as well, walking to the door with them.

“Alaric, I’ll see you at the house. We still have a lot of things to talk about.” And with that, Jenna slammed the door.

* * *

 

Klaus stood up and stretched, his body satisfied and full, the wolf sleeping but there inside of him. His smile dropped as he remembered the body on the ground just before he’d shifted. Elijah’s scent drifted to him.

“It’s been two days. The full moon has come and gone.”

“Nice to know I can change at will.” He said as he caught the clothes his brother threw at him.

“I spent the past two days cleaning up your messes.” Elijah said disgruntled.

“No change there.” Klaus said as he turned to his brother fully clothed. “I remember every kill.”

Elijah was watching him closely. “What do you remember of the ritual?”

“I… I remember glancing down and it was Astrid, not Elena Gilbert on the ground.” Klaus said with a frown. “That was just a hallucination, right?” He asked.

“No, it wasn’t. She took Elena’s place and used an illusion to fool you until after it was over.” Elijah told him carefully.

Klaus’ breath hitched. “But for my curse to break using her blood meant…” Klaus paused as everything sunk in, the sheer travesty of what his mother had done. “That bitch!” He growled.

“Yes, mother stole some of Astrid’s blood and used it to bind you.”

He snarled and punched a tree. “I’ll wait and find her doppelganger.” Because doppelgangers have a cycle that they stick too, he knew that from his experiences with Katherine and another thousand years of waiting would be hell but worth it.

“It wasn’t a doppelganger, Niklaus.” Elijah said softly and he froze. It had to be a doppelganger, what else would it be?

“She and Neville, Asbjorn, they both remember. She called me _Lij_ just before she switched places with Elena Gilbert. They don’t remember much but… she knew who you were when she walked in there.”

Klaus dropped to the ground, his earlier euphoria was completely forgotten. He had killed her. He had killed the woman he loved. She knew who he was and she’d walked in there knowing that he was going to kill her. She was… when he realized that her doppelganger was there he’d been determined to find her and woo her, turn her and protect her… now none of that would happen. This time, this time he’d been the one to kill her.

Elijah grabbed his arm and pulled him up. His brother leading him out of the forest and speaking to him. He couldn’t make out the words but he knew the tone well. It was the voice he used to soothe their little siblings, the voice he used after Astrid had died and he’d discovered that she was with child. He was more focused by the time they’d made it to the edge of the forest.

“You said that you spoke to her.” Klaus said as he stepped away from his brother. He was angry at Elijah for trying to kill him, for believing that he would be capable of doing _that_ to their siblings and he’d wanted to dagger him but that was before… well… before Astrid.

“Yes.” Elijah’s tone was level as they walked.

“Tell me.” He all but begged his brother. He needed to know, how much she remembered, what signs to look for to know that she’d been reincarnated.

“She didn’t believe that you could throw away our siblings, she warned me that I had to be sure. She knew you… a thousand years later and she knew you better than I did.” Elijah said, head down as they entered the apartment building.

She knew him, knew what he wanted. Did she do this because she believed that this was what he wanted? Had she truly believed that breaking the curse would mean more to him than having her in his arms? Did she believe that losing her again would be easier? That being free of the curse at the cost of her life would make him happy?

No, he sat beside his brother and when he felt Stefan approach… well, his façade slipped back on. He could grieve later, he would talk to Elijah as well. Later. He promised as he watched Stefan practically grovel at his feet.

He demonstrated the cure to Stefan, used him as the guinea pig and then sent Elijah with the blood. Later, he would find out more about his beloved. He packed up his things as Elijah returned. The only things he truly wanted to bring were the scrapbook and her file and those he took priority over.

“What happened to Miss Potter-Black’s remains?” Elijah asked Stefan once they were in the car.

Stefan glanced at them. “Her cousins brought her back to England where their family is. Matt Donovan went with them.”

England, yes, he’d have someone track down her grave and then he’d send flowers to it daily until he could visit her. It was another thing he added to his _laters_. He pursed his lips.

“And young Teddy?” Elijah asked again.

“His mother’s gone. What do you think?” Stefan said angrily.

So Teddy was what she called her son. Klaus filed that away for later use. Perhaps he should send the boy something. What did it matter? With Astrid gone he would never have to interact with the boy.

“The poor boy, to have lost his mother when he’s already so close to shifting.” Elijah said and Klaus turned to his brother in surprise.

“What?” Stefan asked.

“Teddy, his father is a different type of werewolf. He was bitten by one when he was six and he became a werewolf. I was told that it was a different strain from the genetic ones. Teddy inherited active genes so he’s going to be shifting and Ianthe told me it would be happening soon.” Elijah told them.

Klaus felt like crying. A werewolf, he broke his curse so that he could tap into that side of himself. A werewolf had killed her twice. And her lover and son were both werewolves. Was that why she was determined to go through with it? So that he could embrace both sides of himself? The child would need a guide and he found himself wanting to know more about the boy. Clearly Elijah and Stefan knew him well. He would find the boy and offer him a place of honor in his pack. Later, he promised once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Stefan doesn't know that Ianthe is alive, within the Mystic Falls residents, only Jenna knows and they explained everything to her. And Ianthe doesn't remember much about Klaus, she was mostly going off of the letter. But she has started remembering Elijah. Tell me what you think of this chapter, please!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens after the ritual with a few time skips. Deus ex machina, sort of for one Mikaelson sibling that may make you mad at me. We also get to see Ianthe's adoptive parents!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the late post but I've been kinda busy with life also, I kinda watched the fifth season of the Originals and I was kinda emotional about what happened to Hailey though I'm not surprised by what happened to the two brothers. Thank you so much for the reviews, btw, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

The day after the ritual, Jenna knocked on the door of her best friend's home. The manor house was large and stately and she owned a significant portion of the forest surrounding her home. Matt opened the door instantly brightening upon seeing her.

He let her in with a smile and Jenna took note of the small luggage at the doorway. “I’ll be going with them to England. They fixed all of my papers for me all though I think they want me to start looking at schools in the UK, I think they’re trying to get me as far away from Mystic Falls and all of the craziness going on here.” Matt said with a laugh.

“Right now, that seems like a good idea. I won’t say you’ll be away from the supernatural but you’ll definitely be with people who know what they’re doing and… well… you’ll be with family.” Jenna told him. She’d always liked the boy when he and Elena were dating, he certainly was a safer choice than either of the Salvatore brothers and he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, certainly better than Elena and her friends who often _looked_ for trouble.

The sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs alerted them to the others. Teddy came down first, then the two boys and Jenna frowned when Ianthe’s footsteps didn’t follow. “Don’t worry, we’re going to take her to England and then we’ll wake her up there. We want a trained healer or medi-witch present when we administer the wiggenweld potion.” Neville told her as he pulled her into a hug.

“Oh, yeah… that makes sense.” Jenna said as she mentally scolded herself for jumping to the worst case scenario.

“I’ll take you to see her.” Dudley offered as he led her to one of the rooms in the more magical wing of the manor. Alaric and Elijah being unfamiliar with the Wizarding communities were kept away from it and were mostly only allowed inside the mundane wing however even within that area there were various communication mirrors and magical portraits that looked like landscapes when they were charmed for ‘muggle’ guests.

Ianthe lay on a bed, her skin paler than normal and she was so still, for a moment Jenna really did believe her friend had died until she touched her skin, it was warm and soft, no rigor mortis had set in. She was stable and in a stasis charm of some sort. She didn’t really know the full details nor did she want too, what she wanted was reassurances that her friend would survive.

They spoke for a bit more until it was time for them to leave. The portkey was taking them directly to Black Manor where they would call on the healers in the family. As soon as they disappeared, Jenna brought out the note that Ianthe had sent her the night before. It had been short and simple.

_Jenna,_

_Don’t worry too much. I’ll be back soon, just have to wait to talk. I’ll tell you everything but not the others._

_-Ianthe_

* * *

 

Ianthe awoke to the sunlight streaming into her room inside Black Manor though it was formally called Ravensmoore Castle to the outside world. She blinked as she took in her surroundings and was surprised to see Sirius asleep on a chair by her bed. It had been years since her adoptive father had done that, often reserved for the times when she was ill or injured. The door opened and Ianthe turned her head to see the dark hair of her adoptive mother, Marlene Black nee McKinnon.

“Oh, you’re awake!” Marlene said in relief. Her mother had only survived the purge of her family due to her vampiric nature. It was impossible to find a purely human witch among the purebloods, especially within the nobility and Marlene had been the only one in her family to have had her creature inheritance come alive.

She swooped down and kissed Ianthe’s forehead as her father jolted awake. His face broke out into a smile as he scrambled to his feet and rushed to them. “How many times have I told you not to scare me like that Prongslet?” He scolded as he pulled her into his arms.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let that girl die.” Ianthe apologized to them as she allowed herself to be babied by her parents. It was nice not having to be the responsible adult for a change.

She felt her mother thread her fingers through her hair. “I’m just glad you’re alright. I don’t know what I’d do if I’d lost you.” She whispered and Ianthe felt guilty. Neither Sirius nor Marlene was able to have any children due to spell damage from different curses during the first war and they’d thrown themselves into being her parents and by extension, additional parents to her cousins, it had even gone so far that they’d adopted her through blood and magic with the permission of her parents portraits.

“Are you getting along with Matt?” She asked as they pulled away.

Sirius laughed. “Yeah, the kid’s fitting in well with the family. He’s been spending a lot of time with the Dursleys and the Grangers these past three days.”

“Good. I’d felt like he would be a good addition to our family and my magic agreed.” Ianthe said with a smile. “So, am I free to come down and take my meal with everyone else?”

“Yes, it’s quite early so you could have your bath first.” Marlene said as she pulled Sirius out of her room.

Her smile dropped as soon as she was alone and she went to her ensuite. She stripped as soon as the water for her bath was already running and she stared at herself in the mirror. The wounds she received from being drained by Niklaus was still there, barely visible but there and she knew that her parents had noticed it. She also knew that her brothers would have mentioned it to them by now, including the fact that she’d nearly married the man in her previous life. The memories had, as the letter stated, trickled in during the two days that Elijah had stayed with them and when she’d seen Niklaus… flashes of their time together flickered through but without the context, without the ability to immerse herself in the memories… they were hollow and one way, through her eyes and without the emotions she’d felt.

The four days she’d been asleep had allowed her this reprieve and her mind recalled every single thing she’d shared with Niklaus and his family. She remembered her life, her meeting them… and she remembered her death. Her hand went to her flat stomach as she thought of the child she’d never birthed. Would he be different if he’d had a child to protect?

She’d lived so many lives, had married others and had one or two children with them… but that was the only life that she was aware of where she’d died before delivery. She studied herself again and wondered what Elijah and Niklaus felt after the ritual. She wasn’t pleased with the things they’d done, what they’d become… but she was happy that they kept true to each other (for the most part) and she remembered their vows of _Always and Forever_. Niklaus had promised her that as well when he’d professed his love to her and asked for her hand. As she got into the warm waters of the bath, she thought back to the day she’d found out she was pregnant (that time at least).

_Astrid laughed as she saw Niklaus cut Elijah’s belt off during sword training and smiled when he’d glanced her way. Her brother had already left her to go to Kol’s side and she’d immediately set her sights on Rebekah, a nod of her head and her friend rushed to her as well. They linked hands as they headed to Tatia’s small home._

_They’d promised Elijah’s lady that they would help her today and then perhaps bond with her. The woman was a relative newcomer to their small settlement having arrived a few weeks prior fleeing the Natives that had destroyed the settlement she was in. Her husband had died during a raid and instead of throwing herself onto his funeral pyre, she chose to live for her son. She was beautiful and kind and desperately in need of a friend, it also helped that if Elijah played his cards right, well… she may become their sister through marriage._

_“Good day, Tatia, I hope your morning has been well.” She greeted as the woman opened her door to them._

_Tatia smiled at her. “Good day, Astrid, Rebekah. And yes, my day has been surprisingly good.”_

_She let them inside and Ianthe scanned the small home, one that had been abandoned for some time after the death of the previous owner. The house was in good condition and seemed to have gone through some repairs, Elijah’s hand perhaps. They talked as they worked on the small plot of land that she’d been given, her young son strapped to her back._

_Astrid frowned as she paused in her work feeling tired. She was afraid that she was becoming ill, different symptoms presenting itself. Her legs buckled and she found herself pitching forward before Rebekah caught her and helped her sit down. Tatia came to her and the two women looked at her in worry._

_“Are you feeling ill?” Rebekah asked._

_“I… I feel tired, I have been feeling tired for quite some time now.” She confessed._

_Tatia frowned. “Do you have any other ailments?”_

_“My breasts are tender and my back hurts quite frequently.”_

_“And your courses? Have they come regularly?” Tatia asked gently._

_Astrid blinked in surprise… “I… I have not received them in nearly three cycles.”_

_“And are you frequently with Niklaus?” The way Tatia had said it… well, Astrid knew what she meant._

_“Practically every day.” She admitted and Rebekah groaned when she’d heard it. She would have too if someone had confessed the same thing about Asbjorn in front of her. There were things that one didn’t need to know about their siblings._

_“And you didn’t find it odd?” Tatia said lightly and she smiled when Astrid shook her head. “My dear, I believe you will need quite a lot of rest and food. Niklaus will be quite busy with you these coming months, tis a good thing you’ll be wed soon and that baby will have his name.”_

_Astrid gasped as her hand flew to her belly. A child with Niklaus, she smiled at the thought and her mind set about the things she would need in their home when the babe came. Rebekah grasped her hand, a smile on her face and her eyes shining._

_“Oh, you and Nik will be wonderful parents.” Rebekah said happily._

_She smiled at the two women. “Do not tell anyone yet, please. I wish to tell Niklaus first and wait til we are wed before we announce it.” The two women agreed happily._

Ianthe came back to herself when the water was getting colder. She had felt those emotions as plainly as if it were the first time but she was still unsure of how she felt about him now. She didn’t know if she still loved him to the same degree that her other self had, oh she felt these emotions more keenly than she had with her other lives but, well, this was the first time that she had been face to face with an old love and they’d not aged a day whereas the others had grown older and she’d met them when they were old men and the children they’d had were already grown.

Right, so many things to do. The first of which was to visit Thesalos Castle, the ancient seat of House Peverell. She had received a letter from herself instructing her to look inside the vaults inside the home and she decided that she would take that as a priority, having no real desire to try and track down the Mikaelson brothers and tell them that she was, in fact, still alive.

* * *

 

Elijah watched his brother, he wasn’t blind to the fact that Niklaus kept his promises in the most twisted of ways and he knew that his brother was still furious over the fact that he’d believed him capable of the worst crime and had tried to kill him, he wasn’t blind to the fact that his brother would have daggered him for revenge and would have stored him in one of the coffins that his brother now confessed to still dragging around. But Elijah also knew that his brother was hurting and had refused to shut his emotions off this time, despite the guilt that he’d felt at unknowingly killing the woman he loved.

His brother didn’t bother to hide the scrapbook that he’d taken to staring at on and off throughout the week. Stefan Salvatore had been given his own room (thankfully, he didn’t know if he’d be able to take prolonged exposure to the man) and therefore wasn’t privy to his brother’s pinings. He noticed that Jenna Sommers was in quite a lot of the pictures.

“I must say, I’m surprised you didn’t use one of Elena Gilbert’s loved ones. You would usually take at least a member of your target’s family.” He told his brother.

Niklaus raised a brow at him. “I had originally planned on using Jenna Sommers.”

“But you saw the album and you realized that she was close to Ianthe. A wise choice, brother. Had she lived, Ianthe would never have forgiven you for killing her cousin.”

“Her cousin?” Niklaus asked.

Elijah nodded. “Miranda Gilbert and Jenna Sommers are half sisters, Jenna’s grandmother was a member of the Black family before she eloped.”

“I see.” Niklaus said, lips pursed in contemplation. His brother was being rather calm about everything, no murders, no fits of rage. It was utterly disconcerting, he had expected his brother to have at least caused _some_ sort of devastation and it was frightening because it usually meant that he would have one massive outburst later on.

“I’m surprised you haven’t demanded to see our siblings.” Niklaus spoke suddenly.

Elijah kept his gaze on his brother, eyes scanning him for something, any hint of his plans because he’d rather not get daggered right now, he knew Stefan wouldn’t be able to contain his little brother and Elijah shuddered at the thought of the destruction he would cause if left unchecked, especially at such a time as this. “I’ve seen the coffins that you’ve been arranging to have follow us, I know they’re fine but you’re not.”

“Believe me, brother, I’m as fine as I’ve been for millennia, perhaps even more now.” His tone was flat and he could see his brother withdrawing within himself much like he’d done when Astrid had first died.

“I think you want to believe it but you and I know that you’re not. You’ve lost the woman you loved before you could ever truly get her back, believe me, you have the same look about you as you did _then_.”

“As opposed to what, brother? Losing myself in murder and whores?” He snarled.

“If it’ll get you to release some of that rage that’s bubbling beneath you? If it’ll make you feel better? Yes.”

Niklaus stared at him, eyes cold. “I didn’t just promise always and forever to my siblings. I promised it to her, my heart and my fidelity. When she died, I broke that but now that I know she’ll come back, I won’t break that vow anymore.”

“So you’ll live like a monk for the next how many years until she’s reborn, grown into a woman, and you have suitably courted her?” Elijah asked his brother incredulously and his brother nodded at him.

“She’s been reborn quite a few times in the past millennia, she’s had countless lovers since then, countless spouses and families. She’s not been faithful to you, so why should you? There is no broken vow here. She’s dead.” Elijah hated that he was saying these things to his brother but Niklaus needed a release from his anger and guilt and Elijah was willing to take it.

He found himself slammed to the wall, his brother’s hand wrapped around his neck. “Careful, Elijah. You might be my brother, but even you wouldn’t be forgiven for speaking of her in such a way.” He snarled.

“I merely point to the fact that those vows you swore to her are null and void. You didn’t know how long _your_ always and forever would be when it came to her. You assumed, what? Forty or fifty years at most and that was being kind for the time. Had she sworn the same vow to you? She didn’t even remember who you were until she met _me_.” Elijah told his brother, unbothered by the tight hold his brother had.

“She wouldn’t have married another if I’d only found her.”

“She never told you so you didn’t know to look. Brother, she didn’t tell you because she knew that had we been humans, you never would have seen her again.” He hesitated about some of the things that she had told him and Niklaus knew it.

“What aren’t you telling me?” He demanded.

Elijah sighed, a part of him had been trying to steer his brother away from Ianthe after what she had told him. “She told me that she had very rarely reached twenty-five years.”

Niklaus released him, eyes alert and he could see his brother planning. Elijah knew that his brother would be keeping a heavier hand on information for her next lives but he just hoped that he wouldn’t do anything too drastic until the girl was older. The thought of her dying repeatedly after Niklaus had found her also terrified Elijah at the thought of how much deeper it would push his brother over the edge and how much harder it would be to pull him back.

“How long did you spend with her that she’s confided in you?” He asked jealously.

Elijah straightened his clothes. “Two days. She allowed me into her home but it’s heavily warded.”

Niklaus ‘hmmed’ as he sat back down, finger tracing a photo of Ianthe with her son. “Tell me of her child. What is  he like?”

“In truth, he reminded me of home, of our little brothers. He had Henrik’s innocence and exuberance and Kol’s love for magic.” Elijah told him and he saw his brother’s look, one that he hadn’t seen in centuries. This was the first time any of them had mentioned Henrik since the first century when they’d stopped marking the passage of time when they were sure that everyone they’d known (and their grandchildren) had long since died out.

“She is, was, a good mother.” Elijah told him gently, cringing at the need for the correction.

Niklaus nodded. “I never doubted that she would be anything but. She tried to tell me on our last day together… but I didn’t want to hear it so we had gotten into an argument or as much of an argument as we’ve ever had since our courtship began.”

“Once we’re all together, we’ll track Asbjorn down or search within their family lines. We’ll find her.” Elijah assured him, their siblings wouldn’t hold back on this search, Elijah knew.

* * *

 

Andromeda does not budge, convinced that Ianthe will drop dead at a moment’s notice and as a trained healer and doctor, Ianthe knows better than to argue with another of her peers, especially Andromeda Tonks. The trip to Thesalos Castle is postponed for another two days as a steady stream of family comes and goes to visit her, Teddy firmly attached to her side while Matt flits in and out, in between the campus tours that her family has lined up for him.

The constant chatter from her family drifts down through the open door to the cavernous basement that houses the vaults. She and Neville approach the last one, arguably the oldest of the vaults and find it sealed with ancient magic. She frowned at the feel of it, familiar and strong and so undeniably… _Neville_ that it takes her a moment to remember that Thesalos was the castle that he’d created.

 _‘When you enter the lowest levels, go to the oldest vault, make sure that Neville goes with you.’_ The letter read. Neville looked as bewildered as she felt as he reached in and tore down the seal, the letter making more sense now. The grunting and groaning of ancient locks and the hissing of the door reverberated around the room, the echo joining the cacophony of voices from above as Neville pulls the heavy door open. It was Neville as Asbjorn who had built this place, but he barely remembered that life.

Ianthe stepped in first, confident in the knowledge that it wouldn’t be anything that would hurt her, Asbjorn would have never allowed it. She froze a few steps in as her eyes caught sight of what the vault held and the magic and it’s owner’s signature hit her. “Well fuck.” She said in surprise. “I guess we really will need to contact the Mikaelsons.”

There on a stone slab, under a powerful stasis charm that wafted with her magical signature, lay Henrik Mikaelson as he was upon his ‘death’ and ‘burial’ a millennia ago. She could sense his life force, preserved with a few beats left to his heart. Why could she not remember this? And why did Esther, a powerful witch despite her Wiccan magic, not just break the charm? There was nothing for it though, the child deserved to live and he would need a lot to boost his immunity.

With that thought in mind, she turned back around to call for Andromeda. The boy would need immediate healing and close monitoring and there was no one she trusted more with this, then her aunt. She turned and passed a dumbfounded Neville who clearly didn’t remember their past as well as she had, just what exactly had Asbjorn done to get ahold of the boy? One thing was certain, they wouldn’t be telling their dream friends about this until it was certain the boy would live, there was no use bringing hope when it could be so easily taken away by a compromised immune system.

* * *

 

Jenna cursed as Elena once more tried to sneak past her. She knew, objectively, that Elena was worried about Stefan but the fact of the matter was that he had chosen to go to Klaus, had chosen to make the deal, and with Klaus leaving and the uncertainty of his return… it would probably be years before Klaus would even though of releasing Stefan. And if they were unable to defeat Klaus _before_ his abilities were unlocked, what made them believe they would be able to do so now, when Elijah was by his side and probably even the rest of their siblings?

“Elena.” She said flatly. “What do you think you’ll achieve from all of this sneaking around?”

“Look, I know you hate Stefan but we can’t just leave him with Klaus!” Elena practically screams at her.

At this Jenna does nothing but raise a brow. “What made you think that I hate Stefan? As a person, sure, I like him, I don’t like how he or your other friends are childish and stupid enough to be baited on. And what exactly do you think you can do against Klaus? If you find Stefan and bring him back to Mystic Falls, the Mikaelsons will come back and more people will die.”

“We shouldn’t just abandon Stefan!”

“He made his choice.” Jenna said firmly. “And if you don’t behave, I’ll be forced to take drastic actions.” She warned her niece, even though she was already planning on installing bars on her window. She and Liz had discussed it, the safety of the town depended on it. Even John, much as she disliked his presence due to their past relationship, had agreed that a separation from the vampires and the supernatural was for the best since Elena seemed to lead her friends into even more danger.

Jenna keeps quiet about why she visits Ianthe’s home so often, it’s been two weeks and to them, her friend is dead and buried but she knows better. There are two versions of her friend running around right now. One is in England, preparing for her trip back in time and another is in Mystic Falls continuing on with her shifts at the hospital. She also thinks about the boy in her friend’s care. A child frozen in time for the past millennia, one whose death had been the trigger for the vampiric curse. A peace offering to the Mikaelsons, perhaps? And a request that they never darken the doors of Mystic Falls. But would it be right? The child deserved to live but would it be living if the child were entrusted to the Mikaelsons and their destructive ways?

* * *

The time turner spat her and a few companions back two months prior to the ritual and they had initially stayed in one of the villas she owned before returning to Mystic Falls a few days after the ritual. Ianthe quietly checked on Henrik, sleeping in one of the guest rooms in her house. The little Viking boy has yet to awaken in the past two and a half months that they’ve been in the past (nor in the month that they had stayed in the future), though this is of no surprise given how long he was in that stasis charm. She knows quite well what the charm does, it freezes the target, locked in suspended animation, vitals frozen and when coupled with the draught of living death, can be substituted as true death just as she’d done during the ritual.

Neither she nor her cousins have informed the Mikaelsons trapped in the dreamscape of their brother’s continued survival because it was too early to tell if the child would live. His wounds have already healed but it is the question of his compromised immune system, so unused to the modern viruses, that has them worried. There are viruses and strains of viruses that have appeared in the millennia since his death or have been completely eradicated, some immunity passed along with each generation born, something that Henrik lacks and his siblings have not needed to worry about since they’re change occurred.

Andromeda stays with her and watches over their ward while she goes about her life as a doctor and thoroughly avoiding Elena and her friends, completely uninterested in getting caught up in any more of their foolishness. Jenna, it seems, has taken the entire group to task for their actions and has finally taken on the role of stern disciplinarian. From her frustrated rants, it seemed Elena was dedicated to finding Stefan at all cost no matter who may suffer for that decision. The girl’s one track mind and her inability to consider the consequences has led to the death of countless innocents within the town. Silently cheering her friend on, Ianthe leans back and watches as her friend unleashes the Black temper on her niece through one of her mirrors. The Mikaelson brothers and Stefan can wait, Henrik’s health and stability mattered more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? I've kind of imagined bringing Henrik back this way even before I posted the first chapter. As for Marlene, well, I've read and seen so many fanfics about a Sirius/Marlene paring and so I took the creature inheritance trope and made it an instrument of her survival. In this fic, there are two types of vampires, just as there are two types of werewolves. The magical vampires are a race that isn't bound by a sire line, they're naturally occurring and is an inherited gene that can become active when they reach a certain age, this means that they can have children (something that appears to be canon in the potterverse).
> 
> So... tell me what you think!


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